GP surgeries struggle with staff shortages amid rise in abuse from patients

Doctors say GP surgeries in Yorkshire are struggling to recruit receptionists amid a rise in abuse from patients.

One GP group in York has closed one of its practices and halved opening hours at another due to a shortage of staff.

Prof Mike Holmes, a partner at Haxby Group, said he had "had receptionists in tears because of verbal abuse they've received".

Other doctors said frontline staff were bearing the brunt of patients' frustrations with a crisis-hit NHS.

The Haxby Group has only half the receptionists it needs to run its six surgeries in York despite seeing a 50% rise in demand for it services.

It temporarily closed one surgery in Stockton-on-the-Forest last year due to the staff shortage and has yet to reopen it as it struggles to fill the vacancies.

Another of the group's practices, in Poppleton, has cut its opening hours to just four a day.

Prof Holmes, who held a public meeting attended by 250 patients to address frustrations on Monday night, said abuse of staff made recruitment harder.

He told the BBC: "I understand the public are frustrated - it's really difficult, we are seeing long waits at general practice - but actually I'm not sure there's any circumstance where I could condone being abusive to a receptionist."

Other GP practices in Yorkshire have reported a rise in abuse.

Donna Stacey, operations manager at Hillfoot Surgery in Pudsey, Leeds, said: "We feel like we are getting a lot more aggression down the phone.

"Our reception team are taking quite a lot of abusive phone calls, lots of bad language unfortunately, lots of blame put on them."

Dr Henna Anwar, a GP in Huddersfield, said: "Our reception staff do feel a lot of pressure and I think some of that is because patients struggle to get appointments.

"If they are struggling or upset, unable to get an appointment or worried about something, our reception staff can receive the brunt of that frustration."

The British Medical Association said last week the NHS was under "intolerable and unsustainable" pressure as "hard-working staff desperately trying to keep up with incredibly high levels of demand".

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