New Delhi, India – 14th June, 2019: The rise in incidents of violence against doctors isn’t limited to Delhi or hospitals in India. This phenomenon is being seen as a healthcare that is growing in several other countries, including USA, UK and China.
A recent survey of more than 3,500 emergency physicians across the US found that nearly half the doctors had been physically assaulted on the job. About two-thirds of them reported being assaulted in the past one year. Data from American College of Emergency Physicians based in Texas shows that 71% of the doctors had witnessed assault on the job. Nearly 70% said violence had increased in the past five years.
In 2011, a 10-province survey in China found that over half the physicians had been verbally abused, one-third threatened and 3.4% physically assaulted by patients over the past 12 months. When a team of researchers conducted a survey, they found the driving force to be patient perception of injustice within the medical sphere, profit-mongering, knowledge imbalances and physician’s conflict of interest.
At least 30 states in the US have passed laws making it a felony to assault hospital workers. American College of Emergency Room Physicians has recommended interventions, such as increasing the number of security officers, CCTV cameras with 24-hour trained observers, panic buttons, and better control of the entry into the emergency department.
In the UK, apart from enhanced security, some hospitals have training courses in conflict resolution for medical professions. In rare cases, patients are excluded from National Health Trust, which means they will only be provided emergency treatment.
China, on the other hand, is trying to promote the concept of family physicians so people with mild illnesses don’t rush to hospitals, thus reducing overcrowding.
Doctors said that attacks on them — physical, verbal and on social media — has become a trend. Dr Vivek Couksey, former president of Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association of India, said, “No one will ask the administration why there are so few ICU beds. People don’t ask the government the reasons for high disparity in availability of superspeciality health services even after six decades of Independence.”
A study conducted among doctors at Safdarjung Hospital showed that 39% of the violence was reported from obstetrics and gynaecology departments, while surgery, medicine and other departments reported 30%, 27% and 4% cases, respectively. The maximum (87%) cases were of verbal violence, while 9% physical violence. Younger doctors with lesser work experience were more vulnerable.
Recently, Delhi government came up with a policy that allowed preference to locals in admission to the 39 hospitals under it. “Public hospitals are overburdened and the infrastructure is not as good as private facilities. However, people want the best services and even a perceived injustice leads to violence,” said Dr Arun Gupta, who heads Delhi Medical Council.
Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/hospitals/doctors-in-us-uk-and-china-also-vulnerable/69780524