If I die, it will be your fault,” is just one of the many abusive comments heard by GP reception staff throughout the UK.
This impactful video contains real-life examples of patient interactions from practices across the UK. These include:
- GP staff whose tyres were slashed by a patient who had not been able to get an appointment that day;
- A receptionist with Chinese heritage, who received racist abuse and was spat on in relation to the Covid-19 virus;
- Daily verbal threats including the common phrase: “If I die, it will be your fault”.
The survey of 571 GP practice managers showed that 83% have had to remove a patient from the surgery due to multiple incidents towards their team. Much abuse goes unreported and national annual data on physical assaults against NHS staff are no longer published. The ‘If I die it will be your fault’ campaign aims to raise awareness of the zero-tolerance approach to abuse and encourage all practice staff to feel confident about reporting incidents.
