Aggressive patients

Shock: wave of violence sweeps over Vienna’s doctors

Only around 30 percent of doctors report no incidents - a shockingly low figure.

(Bild: WavebreakMediaMicro/stock.adobe.com)

The Vienna Medical Association has drawn a shocking conclusion: the majority of Viennese doctors in surgeries and hospitals have been victims of violence in the past two years. 37 percent of them are regularly affected. 

These are shocking figures that the Vienna Medical Association has now presented. "Around 70 percent of doctors have experienced violence in the workplace. That is a shocking finding," says Johannes Steinhart, President of the Vienna Medical Association. A recent survey of 1102 doctors shows that 55% have experienced verbal violence, 24% psychological violence and 16% physical attacks. "It's hard to believe, but 37% report regular incidents," he adds.

The figures prove it: Violence has become part of everyday life in medicine. Opinion researcher Peter Hajek: "We were shocked that only a third of doctors said they had not experienced violence in the last two years."

Aggression on the rise 
The crime scenes are varied. Outpatient clinics and hospitals are most frequently affected. But the situation is also escalating in doctors' surgeries and via email or social media. Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, Vice President of the Medical Association, explains: "I have received death threats by email. Once a lady came to my surgery and said: 'Soon there'll be one less GP'. The police often wave it off if there is no immediate danger."

The heads of the curia Haninger-Vacariu (left) and Kamaleyan-Schmied are sounding the alarm.

(Bild: Stefan Seelig)

Some turn their backs on the profession
For many doctors, the workload is almost impossible to cope with. "We are being blackmailed, insulted and humiliated - online and offline. Patients' expectations have exploded," says Kamaleyan-Schmied. The private practice sector is particularly affected, as it often has no physical protection such as doormen or security measures.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe)

Where can this lead?

In 2022, radical anti-vaccination activists verbally abused and even threatened the general practitioner Lisa-Maria Kellermayr from Upper Austria with death during the pandemic to such an extent that she ended up taking her own life.

Long waiting times as the main reason for outbursts
Hospital doctors in particular report experiences of violence (60 percent), but incidents also occur time and again in surgeries (30 percent). Those under 40, employed doctors and those working in the Vienna Healthcare Association are more affected by violence, explained Hajek.

More than half of the survey participants already suffer from psychological insecurity (55 percent). 68 percent would like to see additional measures against violence in the workplace. 

70 percent

of Viennese doctors in surgeries or hospitals have already experienced violence in various forms and intensities in the past two years.

Enormous psychological stress
Psychological stress is one of the consequences. More than half of those affected suffer from insecurity and fear. "You feel at the mercy of others and alone," says Vice President Natalja Haninger-Vacariu. She emphasizes: "Every attack is one too many. The fact that we have to fear attacks in the healthcare sector is unacceptable."

De-escalation training and more money for staff and doctors are now needed. Above all, this is a political challenge. Throughout Austria, at least 1,000 additional health insurance fund posts are required to reduce waiting times - also in hospitals, to reduce the time it takes to get an operation. Politicians must develop measures to ensure that work is carried out without violence, and healthcare facilities need special protection from the executive, the report continued.

Some districts particularly affected
And who are the perpetrators? In almost 80 percent of cases, it is the patients who become the perpetrators. 60 percent report assaults by relatives. And is there any information about their biography? "That wasn't asked." Just this much: doctors in the districts of Favoriten, Simmering and Meidling are statistically affected particularly often.