The number of incidents of violence in general practice has doubled in the last five years, with doctors blaming staff shortages and fake news about their being unwilling to see patients during the pandemic. According to an investigation by the British Medical Journal police forces recorded 1,068 violent incidents between 2021 and 2022, up from 586 between 2017 and 2018.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) described the treatment of GPs and their staff as ‘unacceptable’ and the increased violence as ‘particularly distressing’, warning that it might lead to staff exiting primary care. ‘Increased levels of abuse, as shown in this report, will be having a significant impact on the mental health, wellbeing and morale of individual doctors and practice staff,’ said Professor Martin Marshall, RCGP chair.
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‘This, alongside the intense pressures GPs and our teams are working under, and sustained media and political scrutiny of our new ways of working since the pandemic are undoubtedly contributing to some people evaluating whether they’re able to continue working in general practice.’
GPs also told of receiving abuse on social media, by trolls referencing media stories of GPs refusing to see patients during the pandemic. But Professor Marshall sees the real issue in staff shortages, and called upon the Government to make good on promises to recruit more staff.
‘Our workforce is not big enough to manage the increasing health needs of our patients. This was the case before the pandemic, and has only been exacerbated by the crisis,’ says Professor Marshall. ‘The Government made a manifesto pledge of an additional 6,000 GPs by 2024 – plus 26,000 additional practice staff - and we urgently need these numbers to be delivered so that we can safely deliver the care and services that our patients need, now and in the future.’