The Belgian Order of Physicians sounded the alarm on the aggressive acts they faced throughout 2022, has received 70 reports of abusive behaviour by patients this year, due to patients wanting to be treated immediately and turning violent if this is not possible.
On Monday, the official Belgian doctors association stated that practitioners had experienced an increase in the number of aggressive acts they faced this year, with the organisation receiving up to 70 reports of aggressiveness by patients in 2022.
Furthermore, the Flemish radio show ‘De Ochtend’ on Radio 1 indicated that this figure is probably much higher, given that many doctors choose not to report the aggression they face.
According to the Order, the verbal and physical abuse doctors face is due to patients often wanting to be helped immediately and can turn violent when it is not possible, a trend which is said to have increased since the Covid-19 pandemic.
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As a result, Michel Deneyer of the organisation has called for this phenomenon "to disappear, because it weighs so heavily on the morale of our doctors and health care providers that many get burnout or feel like quitting.”
To that end, he believes that a hotline should be established to report such incidents, as well as a 'public awareness campaign' to reiterate that abuse against medical staff is not acceptable.
