 Some doctors have been attacked while writing prescriptions |
A GP who took part in a survey on violence against doctors says verbal abuse is a daily problem at his surgery in Leicester. Dr Vijoy Kumar Singh, who has a practice in Highfields, Leicester, says bullet-proof glass has been installed at his surgery as a precaution.
The survey by the British Medical Association (BMA) revealed one-in-three doctors have suffered violence and has led to calls for more protection for medical staff.
Dr Singh said: "One patient came for an emergency treatment one day and asked for hard drugs like methadone, but he wanted a month's supply."
"I completely refused and he tried to grab my prescription pad and he hit me in the face and broke my nose and split my lip."
Afraid of addicts
"It made a strong impact on me and I am still scared to treat a drug addict," he said.
 |  We need to take practical steps - such as seeing agitated patients jointly - to make sure situations don't get out of hand  |
"I have heard of GPs stabbed in the Highfields area in the past and some have moved out because of violence.
"I hope something will be done now that the BMA has published a survey about the violence facing doctors."
Dr Jane Hoskyns, medical director of Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and a practicing psychiatrist, said: "It is a social problem - people's expectations are raised and we cannot always meet them.
"Our nursing staff is more often on the receiving end (of violence) more often than doctors and some have given up work because of it."
"We need to take practical steps - such as seeing agitated patients jointly - to make sure situations don't get out of hand."
The problem is with a small minority of patients, she said.
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