Violent attacks on GPs have doubled in the past five years

Violent attacks on GPs have doubled in the past five years, a study has found.

Police recorded 1,068 aggressive incidents in which patients chased appointments last year – compared to 586 in 2017.

Officers were called to 182 assaults causing bodily harm, compared to 95 five years ago.

The number of cases of stalking and harassment has tripled to 223, according to the British Medical Journal research.

Protective screens and panic buttons have been installed in some operations.

Nine in ten operations staff have also experienced verbal abuse, a poll shows.
Two operations have been set on fire this year.

Dr. Richard Van Mellaerts, a GP in Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, said: “We appreciate patients' frustrations and are angry about delays in their care, but those frustrations should be channeled into holding governments to account, not their general practitioners. and practice staff.

“We have had to call the police several times in the past year.”

The Department of Health condemned any violence and abuse against NHS staff and said recent legislation has doubled the top penalty for attacks on care workers.