No respect: Figures show assaults on doctors are on the rise in Spain

THE number of assaults on doctors in Spain increased by 38% in 2022, according to the Spanish Medical Association (OMC). 

The worrying figures reveal that medical professional associations received a total of 843 complaints for physical and verbal assaults last year, almost 40% more than in 2021. 

The report shows that the largest number of these incidents (27%) took place in hospitals, while 17% of them occurred in emergency rooms. 

Regarding the cause of the assaults, almost two thirds (64.3%) are linked to anger over waiting times. 

While 24.9% of them are associated with the bad management of the GP or hospital and another 11.7% with covid-19 protocols. 

Within Spain, the regions where this problem is most serious are Cantabria, Catalonia, Ceuta and Melilla, as they register over five assaults in every 1,000 doctors. 

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