Almost all staff working in general practice report having been verbally abused, with the issue worsening, a survey has found.
Nearly half of respondents also said they had experienced physical violence or threats to hurt them in the past three years.
The results presented at the Society for Academic Primary Care’s annual conference show that violence and abuse against all staff, clinical and administrative, in general practice appears to be prevalent, the researchers said.
Of the 1,152 respondents – 44% of whom were in a clinical role and the majority women – almost a quarter said they had been on the receiving end of inappropriate sexual behaviours or remarks.
More detailed interviews among 23 general practice staff found that those working in GP surgeries appeared to view violence and abuse as ‘part of the job’, the researchers said.
Clinical staff were more likely to report all forms of abuse, including sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual behaviour, the results showed.
Lead researcher Dr Shihning Chou, associate professor of forensic psychology at the University of Nottingham, said that the study highlighted that, especially for front-line reception staff, abuse may be a daily occurrence.
In the interviews, it was noted that this can have a cumulative impact on staff when they are subject to abuse day after day, she added.
The survey also identified that 62% of respondents felt violence and abuse from patients towards practice staff had got worse.
Some practice managers who participated in the qualitative part of the study said they were worried about staff leaving because of abuse they were facing, as well as being unable to recruit.
In terms of what could be done to address the problem, Dr Chou who has experience studying workplace violence and abuse, is now doing some work designing and evaluating specific interventions to help support general practice staff.
‘We looked for guidance from integrated care boards on this that was specifically for general practice and we didn’t find any so there is a gap there,’ she said.
‘From our interviews, it also suggested that staff would appreciate a bit more support and understanding from NHS England about what it was like in general practice.’
There is also more work to be done with the public to help them understand the reasons behind the issues in general practice that frustrate them, she said.
‘We are looking at some of these solutions working with professionals in general practice as well as patients.’
Londonwide LMCs recently published a new guide for practices on violent patients that urged them to be ‘proactive’ in monitoring threats, including those made on social media.
Management in Practice has published a number of guides and resources to help practices address the issue of abuse and violence levelled at staff, as part of its Keep Your Practice Safe Campaign. They include:
Managing patient abuse – tips from affected practices
Managing patient abuse – how one practice removed its in-person reception
How practices can safeguard their staff from the impact of patient abuse
GP practice trialling ‘meet and greet’ reception following abuse from patients
GP practice urges patients to stop abuse after staff brought to tears
How to deal with aggressive patients
Managing patient abuse: ‘We’re constantly trying to adjust our systems to help’
#KeepYourPracticeSafe
A version of this article was first published by our sister title Pulse
