GPs could leave if verbal abuse increases, says Norfolk patient group
Warning comes after a national poll found that 2 in 5 of these doctors were receiving this treatment, daily
A patient group in Norfolk have told us they're worried local GPs could leave the county, if they continue to face increasing amounts of verbal abuse.
The warning comes from Healthwatch Norfolk after a national poll found that 2 in 5 of these doctors were receiving this treatment, daily.
The poll was conducted by GP Publication pulse and sampled one thousand GPs from around the country.
It uncovered that 74% of family doctors claim that they or their staff have experienced verbal abuse on a weekly basis including almost 40% who claim that it occurs daily.
It also revealed that 45% stated that they experience physical abuse from patients every year.
As well as facing abuse in GP surgeries, a third reported practice staff have faced abuse on social media on a weekly basis.
"These staff are stretched to the limit"
Alex Stewart is the CEO of Healthwatch Norfolk
He says this could have a long-term impact on local healthcare
"Anecdotally we know that a lot of newly qualified doctors go to places like Australia and New Zealand and Canada because the sort of service conditions seem to be better, whether or not they are, is a different story.
"We definitely do not condone anyone abusing GP practices or indeed any actual health and social care staff.
"And it's almost as though it's gone from the hand clapping on a Thursday night to the slow clapping because people are frustrated, and I think that they have to remember that you know these staff are stretched to the limit."
"They're working their socks off all the time"
Mr Stewart says they deserve better:
"They're working their socks off all the time and actually appointment numbers have gone up quite considerably since pre- COVID, so whilst not everyone necessarily gets to see a general practitioner, they are seeing other people that are operating very effectively within surgeries."
He fears the situation could get worse before it gets better
"Because peoples levels of frustration increase you know for example if operations continue to get cancelled as a result of strikes people's patient threshold reaches a point of kind of no return almost and that's understandable if you're in considerable pain so I think we are in for a bit of a long haul and a bit of a long ride."