It doesn’t “come with the job”: violence against doctors at work must stop

A drunken patient had fallen over and lost consciousness from head trauma. As he awoke I was met with indignation and racial slurs. Investigation indicated no injury to treat, and the man agreed to a few hours’ observation. But I returned later to find him verbally abusing the nursing staff, and he made physical threats on seeing me.

Despite our best intentions this man felt let down by the system, and the standard of our care fell short of his expectations. Demanding a form to discharge himself, he stormed out of the department. When I went into the waiting room to call the next patient the same man physically assaulted me, throwing me to the floor and punching me.