In 2024, the National Council of the Medical Order identified 1,992 statements of violence against a doctor in the office, against 1,581 in 2023, a figure in a net increase (26%) for a year. According to a report established from a questionnaire, in the first half of 2024, 1,057 doctors declared that he had been the victim of an assault.
In 63% of cases, the victim is a general practitioner, when 37% of the doctors of another specialty (psychiatrist, ophthalmologist, occupational doctor) say they are victims of aggression.
Since 2021, therefore, in the three -year space, the number of assaults against doctors has even increased by 95%. “These data illustrate a lasting phenomenon, not a passenger accident: the assaults have become a structural problem for the entire profession,” the report said.
Hauts-de-France is the most interested region
Among the most affected regions, the Hauts-De-France was first with 477 attacks of aggressions in 2024, in front of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region (439). If the new Aquitaine is in third position with 164 statements of aggression, observe a slight fall compared to 2023 (202).
With respect to the departments, the north and the Bouches-Du-Rhône are distinguished very clearly with 420 and 368 cases of attacks declared by the doctors respectively.
Doctors on the front line
Of the 1,992 identified statements, most victims are women (55%), while representing 50% of the total workforce of doctors. In almost 6 out of 10 cases, the attacker is the patient (58%). The person who accompanies the patient is only the author of violence in 12% of cases.
Violence can take several forms, but mainly represent people: verbal attacks and threats (61%of cases), theft or attempted robbery (8%) or even physical assault (5%).
According to doctors, the reasons often mentioned by the attackers are related to care (32%), before a falsification of document (26%) or a negative prescription (17%).
74% of the attacks in the City Medicine Office
A clear distinction appears in the framework where the assault of doctors takes place. The majority of the declared incidents are in the context of a city medicine activity (74%). More than half even take place inside the cabinet.
These attacks take place in a care establishment in only 20% of cases. “However, keep in mind that the assaults in the hospital only declare little, probably the issue of internal management,” says the summary of the report.
In addition, given the flagrant increase in violence against doctors in recent years, few of them have ended with a complaint, the National Council of the Order of Physicians underlines.
Only one third of interested doctors (35%) will file a complaint, while 7% have a handrail.
Source: BFM TV
