Half of GPs face challenging patients on a weekly basis, says MPS survey

A Medical Protection Society (MPS) survey of 254 GP members reveals that 52% experience challenging interactions with patients on a weekly basis, with 13% facing it daily.¹ The most common reason respondents believe they face these challenges is owing to unrealistic expectations (72%) – with 93% believing patient expectations are higher than five years ago – followed by alcohol/drug misuse by the patient (41%).

The survey – conducted ahead of MPS’s General Practice Conference 2015: Making Practice Safe – found that all GPs experience challenging interactions, with 75% having experienced verbal abuse, 74% faced aggressive demands for treatment or drugs, and 51% have experienced violent or aggressive behaviour.

Challenging encounters with patients impacts on 94% of respondents’ working environment, and, among those, 94% reported stress and anxiety amongst staff, 77% believe there is an increased workload in dealing with the repercussions, 66% said it leads to a fear of claims and complaints and 66% said it causes delays in appointments. As a result, one in three (29%) GPs said they had considered leaving the profession due to an experience with a challenging patient.

Dr Pallavi Bradshaw, Senior Medicolegal Adviser at MPS said:

“In this ‘information era’, patients are better informed about their health and what modern medicine can achieve. Engaged patients are valuable for GPs; however these high expectations can cause conflict between what the patient wants and what the GP can deliver, leading to difficult discussions. 

“Dealing with challenging patients, particularly when they are abusive, understandably impacts on GPs’ stress levels, morale and fear of litigation – which in turn can negatively affect patient care. At a time when general practice is already facing recruitment problems, it is worrying that 22% said challenging patients make it difficult to recruit and retain staff.’’

Twenty four per cent of GP respondents feel that training has equipped them to deal with challenging patients; however 11% feel training is limited and leaves them feeling unprepared and 18% said it is insufficient.

Dr Pallavi Bradshaw continued:

“Healthcare is an emotive issue and it is understandable that conflict will arise when there are differing opinions. We need to ensure that GPs have the right support and training to manage difficult situations and maintain a good doctor-patient relationship. The majority of GPs (67%) believe a marketing campaign to help patients consider GPs’ responsibilities would help to manage conflict, while 36% want communication training and 17% believe better practice safety procedures would help.”

“Challenging situations will always arise but we believe practices should have policies to deal with these issues with robust support from NHS England, acknowledging the impact this has on the profession. We also want to remind members that MPS is here to offer advice, support and guidance throughout a member’s career.”

For further information please contact Matt Hepburn, Press Office Assistant at MPS on +44 (0) 207 399 1439 or email [email protected]