A medical practitioner was hospitalised following a stabbing at a GP practice in South East London yesterday.
Police were called to Barnard Health Centre on Granville Road, Sidcup to reports of a stabbing.
They confirmed that the victim was a male medical practitioner in their 50s.
A statement by the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police were called at 12:48hrs on Thursday, 23 May to reports of a stabbing at a medical facility on Granville Road, Sidcup. Police attended.
‘At the scene, a medical practitioner, a man in his 50s, had suffered a knife wound to his arm. He was taken to a south London hospital where his injury is not thought to be life-threatening.
‘A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was taken to a south London police station where he remains at this time. Officers from Greenwich, within the Met’s South East Command, are investigating.’
Dr Michelle Drage, CEO of Londonwide LMCs, said: ‘This is a deeply sad and distressing for the GP involved, their family, the practice and its patients. Although we don’t yet have all the details about this case, for some time practices have been reporting that abuse continues to increase and many feel exposed and unsupported.
‘We have been working on guidance for practices on how to manage and de-escalate aggression from patients, which will be published in the coming weeks. But there is only so much practices can do, they need the support of commissioners in removing aggressive patients to properly resourced special allocation schemes and a timely response from local police at the point staff or patients feel threatened.
‘Staff and patient safety must be a key priority, in October 2021 NHS England committed to a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to abuse of staff providing NHS services, but this has clearly not been delivered as events in Bexley and other recent incidents across the country sadly show.’
This is the latest in a series of attacks against GP practices. Earlier this month, a man was arrested outside a GP surgery in Stoke-on-Trent following an incident involving a bow and arrow.
In April, three GP surgeries in North Lincolnshire had to suddenly close after the police alerted them of a threat.
And in January a man was charged with criminal damage and abusive behaviour after smashing windows and glass panels at a GP practice in Bristol.
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Re JGM – your comment seems to suggest that there are circumstances where a patient stabbing a physician could be justified by him receiving poor service from staff (“knife or no knife”).
I think you should clarify,( assuming you are not simply being a tasteless WUM).
When did stabbing staff become as reasonable as writing a strongly worded letter to the Practice Manager, or simply registering at another surgery?
Knife crime is a modern curse rapidly escalating in society and spilling over into defenceless GP surgeries. We should all readily condemn it, not excuse it.
This is the editor. We have removed the initial comment that many of the comments, including this, are referring to. My apologies – I removed the comment, and the author’s follow-up comments, as soon as they were flagged.
Re. David Banner——–what is a WUM?
It’s the doodah that fits into the widget next to the thingamajig….
Of course stabbing is heinous. The austerity philosophy, defund and destroy, of this Govt has led to patients thinking that any service shortfall is just the GP’s fault, which ties in with what this terrible Govt has coldly calculated.
Speedy recovery wishes to the GP.
JGM predictably provocative, predictably idiotic.
Hurt feelings, denied gabapentin does in no way excuse attempted murder.
Thought you had left the platform.
John Munro does not exist-this is a Daily Mail Journalist yet this grotty rag refuses to kick him out.
Re JGM – Wind Up Merchant
To my colleagues… Please kindly do not feed this munro troll….
Let’s sincerely hope you or your family are never the victim of a violent crime and the police the insinuate that you clearly were asking for it/deserved it