'Shouting, screaming, spitting!': GP explains shocking daily abuse he faces
11 October 2021, 11:30 | Updated: 11 October 2021, 12:25
GP sets out shocking scale of abuse doctors are facing
One GP has set out the shocking scale of abuse some doctors are facing on an hourly basis with some patients "shouting and screaming," and even people spitting at receptionists.
Jamie a GP from Northampton said doctors were getting abuse "every day, every hour."
He told LBC's James O'Brien this ranged from abuse phone calls to patients "shouting and screaming," and even people spitting at receptionists.
"They come in clutching newspaper articles, in their face-to-face appointments asking us when are we going to start seeing them face-to-face."
Jamie said it was as if patients were being "gaslighted."
The distressed doctor explained he had spent his weekend giving out Covid jabs to patients and said he did not understand how people could have been led to believe they were not being seen.
James said the cause was simple.
"You mentioned they come in clutching the newspaper articles, they come in with their TV and radio agitators ringing in their ears and they come in and spit at your receptionist.
"It's like night following day."
When James asked the caller just how often this occurred, the GP explained sometimes it was aggressive and sometimes it was passive aggressive.
Caller breaks down explaining how his wife died
The conversation comes after reports patients are facing a "postcode lottery" over seeing a GP in England, with the worst-affected areas served by half the number of doctors as the best.
New analysis has shown that there is on average one GP per 2,038 people across the country, a 5% rise since 2015.
But there are also huge disparities across England, with some areas seeing an increase of around 40% in people per GP over the same period.
It means Hull now has one GP for every 2,821 people, more than double the 1,279 people per GP in Wirral.
The Liberal Democrats, who commissioned the analysis, have called on the Government to train more GPs.
