Since the beginning of the year the doctors’ organisation Doctors’ Order received just under 70 complaints about aggression targeted at doctors by patients. The figure for official complaints is once again up after a fall during the pandemic. The figure may seem low but many doctors are wary of reporting such incidents.
Dr Annemie Adriaenssens says it’s quite routine that patients are unhappy because they feel they are not getting an appointment quickly enough. Then they turn up and create trouble”.
The doctor works at a joint surgery on the Antwerp Left Bank: “It got worse during the pandemic because there was so much pressure. People didn’t feel safe and wanted an explanation. Now that corona, flu and other infections are on the rise, this situation has returned. Five years ago, we never experienced situations like this”.
Rising patient number means a longer wait.
“Our patients have little patience. They want everything now. Well, that’s not possible”.
“I’m experienced but I hear from younger colleagues that they are more easily scared when they need to do home visits. When we are doctor on call at the weekend we are accompanied by a driver. That solves part of the problem, but this isn’t the case at the surgery”.
“It’s no fun. Fortunately, it’s limited to verbal aggression. I haven’t yet felt physically threatened, but my colleagues have”.
There was a case of a patient in the waiting room bashing the walls and slamming doors.
“It’s quite intimidating. It also weighs on doctors’ and care workers’ morale. Many are ready to throw in the towel or get a burnout” says Michel Deneyer of the Doctors’ Order. “80% of doctors say this seriously weighs on them because it’s a very personal threat to their physical and psychological integrity”.
Aggression targeting care workers occurs in surgeries and during home visits, at A&Es and in psychiatric services.
“We need a central point where we can report these incidents and a public awareness campaign to tell people this is just not on” says Deneyer.
The Order also believes it’s important doctors report incidents as this isn’t done enough today. Legislation is also needed to allow doctors to share some information about patients.
“We communicate with doctors in the local area” says Dr Adriaenssens, “but there could be a privacy issue. It would help if the troublemakers were registered”.