Almost half of doctors sexually harassed by patients, research finds

Almost half of doctors internationally have been sexually harassed by patients, new research has found, prompting calls for medics to be given panic alarms to help repel such behaviour.

Globally, 45% of doctors have suffered sexual harassment of different sorts from patients, according to a review covering seven countries published in the Internal Medicine Journal.

More than half (52.2%) of female doctors have experienced sexual harassment, which means they are much more likely to be affected than their male counterparts (34.4%), the academics found.

Doctors are subjected to many types of sexual harassment, including unwanted sexual attention and patients telling jokes of a sexual nature, asking them out on dates, touching them inappropriately and sending them romantic messages or letters.

Medics also have to contend with people they are treating revealing body parts to them or having an inappropriate reaction, such as an erection, or making sexual comments to them during a physical examination or unnecessarily requesting such an examination.

The findings emerged from a meta analysis of 22 previously published research papers on the subject from different parts of the world which were analysed by Dr Caroline Kamau-Mitchell at Birkbeck College, which is part of the University of London.

Kamau-Mitchell said the high prevalence of sexual harassment by patients should impel hospitals, clinics and other healthcare providers to take firm action to safeguard doctors.

“I recommend that hospitals and clinics take these findings seriously, giving doctors who work in isolated wards, on night shifts or alone protection such as CCTV and panic alarms,” she said.

The Royal College of Physicians, the main organisation representing hospital doctors, called the findings “truly alarming”. It endorsed the authors’ call and said doctors needed “vital protection” from harassment by patients, especially when working alone.

Dr Hilary Williams, a consultant medical oncologist and the RCP’s vice-president for Wales, said: “Hospitals at night can be quiet and dark with long corridors and, unfortunately, crumbling NHS buildings can have limited security. All too often, staff at night are forced to park far away in unlit corners away from security,”

“Proper security measures, such as panic alarms and CCTV, could provide vital protection for doctors, especially those working alone or in isolated settings. But we must be sure such measures would not impede on the privacy of patients,” she added.

Being sexually harassed by patients has led to doctors feeling physically unsafe while at work and, in some cases, locking the door of their office when alone, the authors added. Some had even installed CCTV or taken other security measures at their home.

The findings state that, of the seven countries for which there was reliable evidence of the scale of the problem: “Across both sexes, [and] comparing different regions, the percentage of physicians who had experienced sexual harassment from patients was highest in the United Kingdom, followed by Canada, Australia, the US, Israel, Germany [and] then Malaysia.”

In Australia, for example, doctors who have been sexually harassed have responded by being much more formal in their dealings with those who have perpetuated the unwanted behaviour.

Sexual harassment is one of the reasons doctors decide to quit the NHS, which needs to improve how medics can report such incidents, Williams added.

“These findings are truly alarming but, unfortunately, they will come as no surprise to many working in the NHS.

“There are many clear reasons why staff continue to leave the NHS, including the overwhelming demands they are battling, but the undermining, frequent and serious assaults many doctors face are also directly contributing to this,” she said.

“Like many forms of harassment, reporting channels are poor. Absolutely rightly there are very clear processes for patients to report harassment, but much less support exists for doctors to raise concerns about patient and family behaviour.

“Sadly, staff are now so busy that often it’s easier to just move on and put up with it so they can swiftly provide care for their next patient.”

Kamau-Mitchell, a reader in occupational health at Birkbeck College, is an expert in the challenges doctors face and pressures they are under in the course of their work and the significant impact these can have on their mental wellbeing.