Staff at UK GP surgeries facing abuse and ‘tsunami of demand’

NHS staff at GP surgeries are facing unprecedented abuse and aggression from patients, while stressed doctors are increasingly suffering from mental illness, because of an appointments system “in meltdown”, family doctors’ leaders have revealed.

The scale of the deep crisis in GP surgeries was revealed in an emergency summit of more than 60 NHS doctors, dentists and administrative staff in Salford, which the Guardian attended, triggered by a recent rise in verbal abuse.

"Patients are short-tempered and not happy waiting for anything … They want letters. The latest one was a request to speak to a GP because he needs a letter to confirm anxieties that cause him a problem in long queues – because he wants to take his son to [Southport amusement park] Pleasureland and does not want to queue," says Jan Crowshaw, a GP manager

It comes after a recent poll by the body representing GP surgery staff across the UK found that 75% of them face abuse every day, including assaults, threats, racism and sexism.

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Source: The Guardian, 28 May 2021