MORE than three-quarters of GPs in Scotland have reported an increase in verbal abuse or aggression from their patients over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey published today.

The research for the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS) investigated how healthcare professionals’ experiences in the workplace had changed from the first to the second year of the Covid-19 crisis.

Among Scottish GPs, 38 per cent said that incidents of patients directing verbal abuse at them and their practice staff had “significantly increased,” with a further 39 per cent saying that it had “somewhat increased.”