Please be kind to your GP staff

Medical leaders in Lanarkshire have backed a UK wide-campaign which brings abuse of GP staff into sharp focus.
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“If I die, it will be your fault,” is just one of the many comments heard by GP reception staff in the UK.

It’s also the title of a short video, created by the Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM). The hard-hitting clip features general practice staff quoting, verbatim, some of the hostility directed at them in recent weeks.

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This includes direct threats of violence and withering personal abuse.

Dr Linda Findlay, medical director of South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “These voices are from across the UK. But the experience conveyed in the clip has resonated – and is sadly all too familiar – with the local experience of colleagues from across Lanarkshire.

“Many GP colleagues have fed back to me they are currently sustaining similar levels of abuse – particularly reception staff.”

Following the release of the video, Dr Findlay reiterated that partners across Lanarkshire, including NHS Lanarkshire and the respective North and South Health and Social Care Partnerships, take a zero tolerance approach.

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She said: “The majority of the public continue to be supportive of our staff and we thank them for that.

“Sadly, however, we have received reports that a minority have been engaging in behaviours and attitudes, very similar to those depicted in the short clip. This is completely unacceptable.”