Belgium's Order of Physicians is concerned about an increase in physical and verbal assaults on health professionals.
Last year, over 70 reports of aggression were registered, the highest number since 2016, the professional body said on Monday, adding that these figures were just the tip of the iceberg.
A specific contact point for attacks against health professionals was created in 2016, after the murder of Dr Patrick Roelandt during a home consultation in Ingelmunster (West Flanders) in 2015.
Over 430 reports of attacks against health professionals
In seven years, the Order has received 434 notifications, 59% of which were for verbal violence, 21% for psychological violence, 17% for physical violence and 2% for sexual violence, the body lists.
These figures do not, however, represent all assaults committed against health professionals. In parallel to the contact point of the Order of Physicians, others have been set up within general practitioner circles, hospitals and professional unions.
A 2017 survey of more than 3,700 Belgian practitioners further showed that 84.4% of respondents had been victims of some form of aggression or violence in the exercise of their profession at some point in their career.
Female and young doctors are the assailants' main targets
In 2016 alone, 36.8% of the respondents indicated that they had experienced some form of aggression or violence in the doctor-patient relationship. According to the survey, female doctors and young doctors are most likely to be targeted.
Triggers for aggression may include “disagreement over certificates or prescriptions, dissatisfaction with the medical approach, annoyance with increased waiting time, a dispute over finances, or a doctor’s poor communication or attitude”, the Order further notes.
To better measure the phenomenon, the organisation is urging all doctors to report each case of aggression (to the police, the General Practitioners' Circle, the hospital or the national contact point of the Order of Physicians, etc.).
“More accurate figures are needed,” with a view to centralising notifications and drawing up an action plan, it stressed.
The Order of Physicians also recommends conducting an awareness-raising campaign among the general public.
