Violence Report 2006 final.pdf - BMA

Health Policy & Economic Research Unit
Table 5 Extent of violence as a problem in workplace by hospital specialty (%)
Surgery
General medicine (& medical oncology)
Psychiatry
Obstetrics & gynaecology
Paediatrics
Anaesthetics
Radiology (& clinical oncology)
Pathology
Geriatrics
A&E
Very much
a problem
Somewhat of
a problem
Not really
a problem
Doctors were also asked whether they thought that violence from patients has increased over the past
year in their workplace.
More than a quarter of doctors reported an increase in violence in the past year and 56% stated that
it had not changed. Only two doctors (0.2%) reported a decrease.
Table 6 shows that GPs were more likely to report increased violence in the workplace or indeed no
change in the past year, compared with hospital doctors. Among hospital doctors, those working in
A&E, anaesthetics and psychiatry specialties were more likely to report increased violence in the
workplace (Table 7).
Table 6 Whether violence has increased in workplace by type of doctor (%)
Increased
Decreased
No change
Not applicable
Total
11.5
4.8
34.0
6.9
4.5
15.4
7.4
0.0
0.0
51.4
46.2
24.8
16.0
37.9
38.6
21.2
40.7
18.2
55.6
2.9
32.1
48.6
48.0
41.4
40.9
53.8
29.6
9.1
33.3
45.7
Not a problem
at all
10.3
21.9
2.0
13.8
15.9
9.6
22.2
72.7
11.1
0.0
General Practitioner Hospital Doctor Total
30.0
0.5
62.8
6.7
100.0
27.7
0.0
51.2
21.1
100.0
28.7
0.2
56.2
14.9
100.0
Violence in the workplace – The experience of doctors in Northern Ireland 7