Shocking images have shown a GP’s office after it was vandalized by a patient.
Chairs, tables and Christmas decorations are seen upside down and scattered in a patient’s waiting room after the shocking attack.
A GP working at the Derby practice said it was a “miracle” no one was injured in yesterday’s incident.
She denounced a rising wave of violence against GPs and said time spent planning how to keep the practice safe for staff and patients was now affecting patient care.
Chairs, Christmas decorations and health information sheets can be seen scattered in the patient’s waiting room after the attack.
A GP who worked at the practice said it was a “miracle” no one was injured in the Wilson Street attacks in Derby
The GP said that he now had to plan how to improve safety in surgery, time that could be spent on patient care
Dr. Shehla Imtiaz-Umer, who works at Wilson Street Surgery, wrote about the attack on Twitter and said GPs were at increasing risk of patient violence in the workplace.
“Violence, abuse and aggression against GPs continues unabated,” she wrote.
“Negative media narratives, anti-doctor rhetoric, relentless demands and unrealistic expectations lead to this level of violence. Where will it end?’
She added that it was a miracle that no one was injured in the incident and said improving safety in surgery would now come at the expense of patient care.
“Instead of caring about patients, we need to plan safety for the safety of our patients and colleagues,” she said.
“It is unacceptable that anyone in these circumstances has to deal with escalating attacks.
“It was a miracle that no one was physically hurt.”
It is not known whether the person behind the attack on the facility has been arrested or is being investigated by the police.
The attack comes just months after research showed 1,068 “violent incidents” were recorded in doctors’ offices in the UK last year.
UK police recorded a total of 1,068 violent incidents – involving physical assaults and nasty emails – between 2021 and 2022, compared to 586 in 2017. They are detailed above
NHS Digital data for England in October shows more patients have been seen face-to-face since Covid first hit the UK (71.3 per cent). Officials have told doctors to see more patients in person over concerns about missed diagnoses
But data from NHS Digital also shows that just 44 per cent of October’s appointments were with a GP – the lowest rate since the pandemic began. Most of the appointments were made with other practice employees, e.g. B. a nurse, a health visitor or a physiotherapist agreed
Most of the calls were the result of threats of violence, verbal abuse and “malicious communication”. However, 182 cases involved physical violence.
In comparison, there were only 586 incidents in 2017/18.
Data on violence was collected from 32 UK police forces based on requests for information from the British Medical Journal.
The increase in violence and harassment has occurred against the backdrop of patients’ frustration with the lack of access to primary care physicians.
The proportion of face-to-face appointments with GPs in England has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
But GPs say they are dangerously overworked and forced to attend too many appointments a day, meaning they can miss important signs of health problems in their patients.
The latest data on GP appointments for England shows that GPs, who earn an average of £110,000, had 32 million appointments in October – the highest number since the pandemic began.
This means the number of patients seen in person has returned to the highest level since March 2020, when the UK first entered a national lockdown.
Seven out of ten consultations in England took place in person in October.
The rate dropped to four in 10 in the early days of the pandemic, when Britons were told to stay at home to limit the spread of the virus.
Although 80 per cent of pre-Covid patients are seen in person, top doctors have suggested the number will never return to these levels.
Officials have told GPs to see more patients in person to improve access, reduce the risk of missed diagnoses and address inequalities across the country.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
