SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE/MADRID, March 9 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Canary Islands registered a total of eight attacks on doctors last year, compared to five the previous year, although it was one of the least affected communities with a rate of 0.63 per 1,000 members, according to data from the General Council of Physicians (CGCOM) presented this Thursday on the occasion of the ‘European Day Against Attacks on Doctors and Health Professionals’ which is celebrated this Sunday.
Attacks on doctors in Spain grew by 38 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year.
According to CGCOM, these figures “break the historical record of attacks on the medical profession”, with 843 violent actions reported to medical colleges, 231 more than the previous year, which places the total number since 2010 at 6,492 attacks.
In this way, 2022 has been the year with the most registered attacks, while the year with the lowest number was 2015, with 344.
The general secretary of CGCOM and member of the National Observatory of Aggressions, José María Rodríguez Vicente, has presented these data in the framework of the first European conference on attacks on health personnel, which was attended by representatives of other medical orders from the European Union.
PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN, ASSAULT PROFILE
Of all the attacks suffered, 61 percent correspond to women, a figure that consolidates the trend of recent years. In the field of Primary Care, aggressions represent 43 percent of cases, a percentage that, although experiencing a decrease at the national level, is not homogeneous in all the Autonomous Communities.
Behind are hospitals, which rise five points and stand at 27 percent, ahead of Hospital Emergencies (9%) and Primary Care Emergencies (8%).
Regarding the different types of attacks suffered, in 84 percent of the cases there were insults and threats, mostly to women, while the remaining 16 percent were attacks that ended in physical injuries, 56 percent of which were suffered by women. and 44 percent men. It is worth noting the increase registered in injuries (+3%). Of all the attacks received and communicated, 10 percent of them ended in sick leave.
On the other hand, 21 percent of the attacks are not related to welfare issues, but structural. Within this structural area, the time to be attended stands out with 64.3 percent, followed by a malfunction of the center (24%) and that related to the Covid-19 protocols (11.7%).
Within care factors, the main cause of aggression is the discrepancy with the medical care received, which stands at 53 percent. Personal discrepancies (13.8%) are also reasons for aggression; not prescribing what was proposed by the patient (12.4%), what was related to temporary disability (10.6%) and, finally, reports not in accordance with the claims (9.9%).
Regarding the type of exercise in which the attacks occurred in 2021, they also maintain similar data to those of previous years with a clear preponderance of the public exercise (89%) over the private one (11%). Of all the attacks, 95.1 percent occur during work hours and environment.
In the distribution by age, the report highlights that the greatest increase by age range has occurred among the youngest members (less than 35 years of age), who already represent a quarter of those attacked (25.4%).
Another piece of data highlighted by the 2022 report and which continues the upward trend of previous years is that more and more professionals receive support from the workplace. Specifically, in 2021, 67 percent, six points more than the previous year, a figure that marks a new record.
TYPOLOGY OF AGGRESSORS
Regarding the type of aggressors in 2021, the data shows that they are mainly scheduled patients (48%), followed by unscheduled patients (28%) and companions (22%). By age, most of the aggressors were people between 40 and 60 years of age.
“In 2023 we must work together. The 843 are the visible attacks, but this is the tip of the iceberg, since many are not notified for fear of reporting, or for thinking that time is wasted, and in the end we get used to it. to live with insults and threats,” said Rodríguez.
Asked about the causes of the increase registered in 2022, Rodríguez argued that “perhaps the pandemic has changed society.” “Society has come out of the health crisis with more depression, anxiety and aggressiveness”, he has argued, adding that the delay in consultations derived from the pandemic may also be behind this increase. “The pandemic has generated the post-pandemic. Those consultations that have not been carried out and stopped are taking place within a year,” he recalled.
Finally, the president of CGCOM, Tomás Cobo, has expressed his rejection of this increase in attacks. “We have done something wrong when it comes to explaining to the public that our only vocation is to serve others and that, ultimately, we have dedicated our lives and our youth to training ourselves to achieve it, because the attacks continue,” he lamented. he.
THE EUROPEAN DATA
During the event, representatives from Portugal, France and Italy also presented their most recent data on attacks on the medical profession. On behalf of France, Philippe Cathala, CNOM’s delegate for European and international affairs, commented that this country has reported 1,009 attacks in 2021. Like Spain, it has registered an increase in verbal attacks, and the most affected doctor is also a general practitioner , with a very slight difference between men and women.
As for Italy, Nicolino D’Autilia, vice-president of the European Council of Medical Orders, has reported that the Modena Medical Order has registered a total of 59 attacks in 20 months, most of them verbal and against general practitioners. Likewise, he has warned that “75 percent of attacks are not reported.”
On behalf of Portugal, Filipa Lança, delegate of the international area of the Ordem dos Médicos, has also warned that the situation in her country in terms of violence against the health professions “is getting worse and will continue to get worse”. Portugal has registered a total of 1,632 violent acts against all health professionals in 2022, which also includes nurses and health technicians. As in Spain, most of the attacks are psychological. “Prevention is the key,” Lança insisted.
