Oviedo (EFE).- Last year Asturias registered 14 attacks on doctors by their patients, of which 11, 78 percent, had a female doctor as the victim in an area in which men represent 68 percent of active members in the region.
This is reflected by the National Observatory of Attacks on Doctors, an initiative that coordinates the work of the Medical Associations of Spain, which confirms that in 2022, 843 cases were registered in the country as a whole, 38 percent more than in 2021, while that in Asturias 14 complaints were filed compared to 10 in 2021; 8 o’clock in 2020; 17 of 2019; 14 of 2018 and 13 of 2017.
Primary Care, both in consultation and in emergencies, is the area of work in which the greatest number of attacks occurred, eight -57%- while hospitals and their emergencies add up to five and one took place in other areas.
In all of them there were insults and harassment, in twelve there were threats and in one there were physical injuries, although none required leave from work.
By age group, doctors between the ages of 36 and 45 suffered two assaults; those between 46 and 55 years old, five and seven suffered from physicians between 56 and 65 years old.
Regarding the aggressor, according to sex, in 50% of the cases it is a woman and, according to age, three are under 40 years old, six are between 40 and 60 years old and 3 are over 60 years old while, Regarding the type of activity where it occurs, one corresponds to scheduled patients, four to non-scheduled patients and the highest proportion to the companion, with nine cases.
Of the 14 complaints, two were taken to court and the most frequent argument that motivates the aggression is the discrepancy with the medical care received (9), followed by complaints for not prescribing what was proposed by the patient and incidents with new technologies (3 cases in both) and the delay in being attended, personal discrepancies and malfunctioning of the center (1 case in each case)
At the end of 2022, the College of Physicians of Asturias had 7,213 professionals -55% women and 45% men- and, by age group, 20% were under 35 years of age, 15% between 36 and 45 years of age, 14% between 46 and 55, 26% between 56 and 65 and another 26% were older than 66 years.
The report has been prepared in view of the European Day against Attacks on Doctors and Health Professionals, which is commemorated on March 12. EFE
The entry Medics suffer 78% of patient attacks in Asturias was first published in EFE Noticias.