Violence Against Doctors: A Rising Menace

Abstract

The word violence has a ring of intentional hurt and to use it against medical professionals, who are acting according to medical ethics is unthinkable. Stress and violence are on a rise in health sector workplaces and doctors are high on the list of occupations with serious stress levels. Violence against medical professionals is reaching unprecedented height and even in world class, well equipped hospitals, doctors face verbal or physical abuse. In primary care, mostly patient and attendant are the perpetrator, and these violent events are more frequently seen in surgical wards. The decline in literacy rate in Pakistan is directly contributing to lack of general knowledge about diseases, precautionary measures and their treatment leading to delayed diagnosis along with unrealistic expectations from a doctor to do some miracle.  Also, the shortage of medical staff is another problem that Pakistan is facing in health sector, thus causing frustration in both the consumer and producer due to increase workload on doctors and unbalanced patient to doctor ratio.