Violence Report 2006 final.pdf - BMA

Health Policy & Economic Research Unit
Table 10 shows that for the majority of respondents, the violent incident took place in the hospital
ward (27%) or doctor’s office (23%). Among GPs, the majority of incidents took place either in their
office or waiting room, whilst for hospital doctors, the most frequently cited location was the hospital
ward or A&E. Other reported locations included out-of-hours clinics, community health centres or
outpatient clinics. Several respondents also reported verbal abuse over the telephone. In two-thirds of
cases (68%), respondents reported the incident taking place during working hours. However, a fifth
(21%) of doctors reported the violent incident taking place during out-of-hours (table 11).
Table 10 Location where violent incident took place by type of doctor (%)
Hospital-A&E
Hospital-ward
Hospital-public area
Your office
GP waiting room
Patient’s home
Other
Total
Table 11 Timing of violent incident by type of doctor (%)
During working hours
Out-of-hours
Both
Total
General Practitioner Hospital doctor Total respondents
3.7
2.3
0.0
41.6
26.0
12.3
14.2
100.0
28.0
45.5
6.1
7.9
0.7
0.4
11.5
100.0
17.3
26.5
3.4
22.7
11.8
5.6
12.7
100.0
General Practitioner Hospital doctor Total respondents
76.8
11.6
11.6
100.0
60.2
28.9
10.9
100.0
67.5
21.3
11.2
100.0
It is often suggested that racial or political motivations lie behind violent incidents. However, only 1
respondent stated that the incident of violence against them was politically motivated. Instead key
motivations included drugs, alcohol, mental illness and confusion. Respondents were asked why they
thought the violent incident against them had occurred. Table 12 shows that the most frequently
stated reason is that the perpetrator was dissatisfied with the service provided, followed by intoxication
with alcohol/drugs, health related/personal problems or a history of violence/abuse. Dissatisfaction with
the service provided includes patients’ high expectations of the NHS and frustration with long waiting
times, refusal to prescribe or admit for treatment and dissatisfaction with diagnosis received.
Violence in the workplace – The experience of doctors in Northern Ireland 11