In addition to the pandemic and the postponement of care, healthcare professionals have to deal with another wave. That of violence on the part of certain patients. A form of aggressiveness that occupies more and more space in the daily life of the medical profession.
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Last year, around seventy assault notifications were recorded, a record since 2016, indicates the National Council of the Order of Physicians, according to whom these figures represent only the tip of the iceberg. In seven years, the professional organization has received 434 notifications, including 59% for verbal violence, 21% for psychological violence, 17% for physical violence and 2% for sexual violence, lists the organization.
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Victor Fonzé has forty years of gynecological practice behind him. Today, he is the vice-president of the platform Doctors in difficulty. And his observation is without appeal.
“Our non-profit organization collects distress calls and we have experienced a significant increase in declarations of aggression in recent years, this is one of our concerns at the moment, he points out. We collect these complaints which are then used by the site of the National Council of the order of which we are a part. This council also believes that it is necessary to use part of the doctors’ contribution to deal with mental health in the sector. When there is a malaise in a doctor, it is the patient who pays the consequences”.
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“Patients are more anxious and aggressive”
A recent survey of more than 3,700 Belgian practitioners also 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. of their career. “For two years after the start of covid, I have noticed a real increase in tension among people, they have become more anxious and therefore more aggressive, says a doctor who preferred to remain anonymous. The health professions are at the forefront of this contact. And our mental health is now seriously affected”.
According to the Order of Physicians, among the triggers for attacks, there may be disagreement over certificates or prescriptions, dissatisfaction with the medical approach, annoyance at the increase in waiting time, a dispute about the financial aspect or poor communication or attitude of the doctor.
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“Today, respect for all forms of authority is falling, we also see it with the police and teachers, the relationship with doctors is therefore following the same evolution, he laments. In the past, the link with his general practitioner was too paternalistic, but today it has become too contractual. We go to see it to demand to be cured whereas before we wanted above all to be cured. The attachment to the therapist has diminished, as has the humanization of medicine for which certain doctors are responsible. With the ambient pressure, the increase in the administrative and work load, the doctor unfortunately has less time to devote to his patient”.
Faced with this situation, the association doctors in difficulty encourages health professionals to report any form of aggression at work as soon as possible. “Of the total of declarations, which remain underestimated, we note that only 5% of the facts are reported to the Policereports Victor Fonzé. It is clear that covid has been a factor in the increase in this aggressiveness towards caregivers, there is mental suffering on the part of the population following the pandemic, so we must react. The authorities must do more prevention with regard to the medical profession, while protecting them more. There is also a wait-and-see treatment by the police when attacks are declared”.