DOCTORS who have fought coronavirus on the front line for more than a year and a half have faced a growing torrent of abuse from patients, an investigation found yesterday.
The British Medical Association (BMA) warned of a growing level of abuse towards GPs and asked the public to be nice to NHS workers.
A new survey by the doctors union found that more than a third of doctors have faced "recent abuse" by patients or those who accompany them to their appointments.
This was even higher among GPs, where half said they had been abused in some way in the past month.
One in five GPs reported being threatened and 34 doctors said they had been physically assaulted.
Half reported seeing other staff members abused by patients, including nurses, receptionists, and health care assistants.
A GP in the South West of England said: "A patient also told me to 'go back to where you came from.'
Dr Richard Vautrey, chair of the BMA GP committee, called for an โhonest public conversation, led by the UK government and the NHS, about the precarious state the NHS is now in after 18 months of handling a pandemic. , so that people have realistic expectations, and to prevent staff from bearing the brunt of frustration and anger. "
The survey comes after a warning that the NHS waiting list could swell to more than 14 million in England alone by the autumn of next year.
Dr. Tony O'Sullivan, co-chair of the national Keep Our NHS Public campaign, said personal threats and racist abuse "cannot be tolerated."
He said: โThe government has completely failed both the NHS and the patients.
โThe staff is completely exhausted covering illness and self-isolation in addition to 100,000 vacancies.
โThe payment offer is disgusting. The waiting lists are horrible, yet ยฃ 10bn is being offered to private hospitals rather than the NHS - a total disrespect on the part of the government that further hurts morale.
"We must get that message home: restore the health of the NHS by investing in our excellent but uptight community of GPs and NHS hospital staff, not private hospitals."
The NHS said it "will not tolerate" abuse or violence towards staff.
