Medical centres bearing brunt of aggression

Medical centre staff are being sworn at, spat at and had things thrown at them as patients’ frustration with the Omicron outbreak, and Covid-19 rules, runs into aggression.

The general practices say they are doing the best they can with staff off sick or isolating, yet they are often bearing the brunt of abuse as the face of the Covid-19 response.

Two Whangārei medical centres have even had windows smashed by aggressive patients.

Dr Tim Malloy, director of Coast to Coast Health Care in north Auckland and south Kaipara, said aggressive behaviour had been seen all through the pandemic but had escalated with Omicron.

‘‘We’ve had people throw things at our receptionist, spat on people, racial abuse towards our reception staff – every form of aggression,’’ he said.

Malloy said a few people had taken exception to the centres’ health and safety policies, which included a mask requirement, plus questions about their symptoms and vaccination status.

These questions allow higher-risk patients to be treated in a safe environment – such as in isolation rooms which are directly accessed from outside, and staff wearing full personal protective equipment.

‘‘People take exception to that management – which was never about not providing care and allows us to provide care through an alternate means,’’ he said.

‘‘We’re the face in the local community of the Covid response, and the views that they’re espousing are essentially political issues about the vaccine, the virus . . . and the mandates.

‘‘These are all beliefs that they are entitled to have and express, but we have to meet our requirements, legal obligations and polices to protect our staff.’’

Coast to Coast has now developed a policy with a zero tolerance for aggression, with enrolled patients given one warning about unacceptable behaviour, Malloy said.

‘‘If they persist, they’re dis-enrolled, trespassed and advised to seek their help somewhere else.’’

Malloy said with the outbreak, practices have more work to do and less staff to do it with.

In Whangārei, the situation was a ‘‘perfect storm’’ with an existing severe shortage of GPs, West End Medical practice manager Iain Watkins said.

One patient smashed the centre’s windows with rocks, in what was perceived to be frustration, although they ran away before explaining exactly what the problem was, he said.

But staff have also copped plenty of verbal abuse, particularly the centre’s 18-year-old receptionist,

Watkins said. Many people have taken exception to having a phone consultation before getting a face-toface appointment, but Watkins said this was simply about managing the very high demand.

‘‘If they need to come in, we get them in

– and it saves them money if they don’t have to drive here,’’ he said. ‘‘But the public think we’re fobbing them off or ignoring them.’’

With the Omicron outbreak, about half of the centre’s staff were busy monitoring Covid-19 patients in the community, cutting down available appointments, he said.

Clinics around the country are having the same problems, with verbal abuse occasionally turning physical, said Dr Bryan Betty, Royal NZ College of GPs medical director, and Porirua GP.

A few weeks ago, patients were angry at not being able to access rapid antigen tests (RATs) easily, but now patients are frustrated at not being able to access routine medical care because of Covid-19, he said.

‘‘It’s quite difficult at the moment balancing the Covid response, with demands of routine care and the wants of the community.’’

New Zealand’s underlying lack of GPs and nurse practitioners – especially in rural areas – had been exacerbated by the pandemic, Betty said. The college backed a zero tolerance approach for abuse of frontline staff, he said.

‘‘We don’t think it’s acceptable. We understand patients’ frustration but general practices, and doctors and nurses, are trying their best to cope with the present situation.’’