The rate of violent crimes at GP practices has doubled over the past five years, researchers report today. Gareth Iacobucci, of the BMJ in London, UK, led the investigation. He sent freedom of information requests to the 45 police forces in the UK, asking for details of crimes committed at general practices.

Of these, 42 forces replied, 32 of which gave complete information. This shows that violent incidents rose from 586 in 2017-18, to 1,068 incidents in 2021-22. These incidents were defined as “violence against the person”, which includes all forms of assault and harassment. The number of assaults resulting in injury was 98 in 2017-18, rising to 182 in 2021-22. Stalking and harassment at GP surgeries has tripled, and public order offences such as threatening behaviour has risen by 40%.

Dr Richard Vautrey, a GP in Leeds and former chair of the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners Committee said: “The figures from the police are just the tip of a much, much bigger iceberg, and many staff have almost become accepting of the fact that this is part and parcel of that role.”

Dr Richard Van Mellaerts, a current member of the BMA’s GP Committee, said: “Some sections of the media have driven a view that general practice was closed during the pandemic, which is of course the opposite of the truth. Unfortunately, that opinion has been adopted by some people, and that’s been a driver for some of the aggression. This never excuses any kind of violence, but it is vital that the government grasps hold of some of these issues and solves them in order to nip this in the bud.”

The Royal College of GPs warned of the impact of violence on the mental health of doctors and their staff.

Chair Professor Martin Marshall said: “Increased levels of abuse, as shown in this report, will be having a significant impact on the mental health, wellbeing and morale of individual doctors and practice staff. This, alongside the intense pressures GPs and our teams are working under, and sustained media and political scrutiny of our new ways of working since the pandemic are undoubtedly contributing to some people evaluating whether they’re able to continue working in general practice. There may be many reasons why a patient may express aggressive behaviour, none of which are acceptable. We understand and share our patients’ frustrations when they struggle to access timely and appropriate GP care. But this is not the fault of GPs and our teams – the real issue, is a shortage of GPs and other practice staff meaning our workforce is not big enough to manage the increasing health needs of our patients.”

Source: Iacobucci, G. Violent incidents at GP practices double in five years, BMJ investigation finds. BMJ 1 June 2022; doi: 10.1136/bmj.o1333