Violent attacks on GPs have DOUBLED in the past five years

VIOLENT attacks on GPs have doubled in the past five years, a probe found.

Police recorded 1,068 aggressive incidents last year as patients chased appointments — compared with 586 in 2017.

Officers were called to 182 attacks that caused physical injury, compared with 95 five years ago.

Stalking and harassment cases tripled to 223, the British Medical Journal probe found.

Some surgeries have put in protective screens and panic buttons.

Nine in ten surgery staff have also faced verbal abuse, a poll found.
Two surgeries have been torched this year.

Dr Richard Van Mellaerts, a GP in Kingston upon Thames, South West London, said: “We appreciate patients’ frustrations and upset with delays in their care but those frustrations need to be channelled into holding governments to account, not taken out on their GPs and practice staff.

"We’ve had to call the police several times over the last year.”

The Department of Health condemned any violence and abuse of NHS staff and said recent legislation doubled the top sentence for assaults on emergency employees.