York GPs receiving death threats from patients - with one practice set on fire

GPs in York are being told to "kill yourself" by patients - who are threatening their lives if they can't get an appointment.

Doctors and receptionists at Priory Medical Group, which runs nine GP surgeries in the city, have reportedly been subjected to death threats and abuse both over the phone and in the GP practices themselves. From being told to take their own lives to patients saying they will "grab them" as they leave work, the mental health of GP surgery workers has reportedly plummeted. Surgeries have also been subjected to vandalism and one was even set on fire.

In an open letter to patients, Dr Abbie Brooks said: "Recent direct death threats received by our GPs within the last few weeks has made me realise that I can’t stay quiet on the matter any longer.

"I understand our patients and the wider society is frustrated. We are too. We are working under the constraints of a severely underfunded system, but still helping hundreds of patients every day. We want to offer quick urgent care access, continuity of care and timely follow ups to all but the staffing levels and high demand for appointments means this is impossible.

"If staff continue to feel threatened and anxious at work, they will leave. This will mean gaps in our reception, patient central call handlers and clinical teams only making it harder for patients to access our care.

"Yes, we know the patient journey to reaching a diagnosis can feel slow or clunky. We know we aren’t always doing everything right but does that mean we deserve to feel scared doing our job? No."

Dr Brooks has urged that with such a high demand, patients should consider using the NHS website for more information about their symptoms. Patients who have threatened staff have also been removed from the surgeries' lists, and according to Dr Brooks the police have also been contacted.

"I haven’t written this for sympathy or to shock," she added.

"Every day I go to work with the aim of helping my patients, as do receptionists and call handlers. It is a much harder job when I am dreading which patient will phone up or walk in and shout at me or my colleagues. When I worry about calling a patient because I know that I will receive hostility due to the time taken to book the appointment or when I’m worried about declining a request for an unnecessary prescription because I know the patient’s reaction might be extreme.

"Please be patient with all our staff members, they really do want to do the best they can without the fear of abuse."