Third of family GPs attacked by patients

ALMOST one-in-three family doctors has been attacked or threatened by patients over the last 12 months, an Irish Medical Times (IMT) survey says.

The telephone survey of 121 GPs around the country found that 29.4% of family doctors had been attacked or intimidated.

While the IMT researchers said the survey showed GPs were becoming increasingly vulnerable to attack, a spokesperson for the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) said attacks on family doctors were a constant issue.

“It is not something which has been brought to our attention in the past number of weeks or months. It is a constant part of being a GP,” said Dr Niall Ó Cléirigh.

Dr Ó Cléirigh said threatening behaviour in patients usually surfaced as a result of being denied treatment.

“I think the abuse or anger of a patient will emerge when refused treatment, such as being denied a referral or medication which they perceive as the best course of action to meet their needs.”

A skilled GP will know how to negotiate with that patient, Dr Ó Cléirigh said, and reach an agreement on the best course of treatment.

He said patients denied tranquillisers and sedatives were most likely to threaten their GP.

“I am talking about valium, sleeping tablets, benzodiazepines. GPs are becoming increasingly reluctant about prescribing any of these drugs because there is such a huge problem of abuse in these areas.”

Abuse of these drugs is exacerbated by their ready availability on the black market, Dr Ó Cléirigh said.

He said family doctors in urban areas were much more likely to be threatened or abused by patients because such behaviour was “fairly heavily tied in to illicit drug use,” which is more prevalent in cities.

A study carried out in 1996 by Dublin GP Dr Phililp O’Connell showed that more than one-in-five GPs had suffered violence at the hands of patients.

The report said that almost half of the assaults (47%) were caused by the refusals of the GP to prescribe medicine or provide access to a specific treatment.

Active narcotic abuse was regarded in 35% of incidents to have a relevance in causing aggression.

For the majority of doctors in the 1996 survey, the violence amounted to severe verbal abuse with threats of injury (43%). While no GP surveyed was severely injured, 8% suffered minor injuries.

There is a mechanism for GPs to report assaults to the health boards, but DrÓ Cléirigh said there was seldom a follow-up unless the GP actively sought one.