Domestic violence training urged
Thursday October 13th, 2011
Specialist training can massively assist GPs and practice nurses in identifying women who are victims of domestic violence, researchers reported today.
A
study conducted in Bristol and Hackney, London, found a 22 times increase
in referrals from general practice for assistance with domestic violence.
The findings are released as the Royal College of GPs announced a new programme for training doctors.
Researcher Professor Gene Feder, of Bristol University, and his fellow researchers say that most clinicians have no training in domestic violence and fail to identify abused patients.
They are also uncertain what to do if a patient does disclose abuse, they say.
During the research, published in The Lancet, 24 practices received a training and support programme and 24 did not.
In the 12 months following the training, some 223 cases were referred by the trained practices and 12 by the untrained practices.
The researchers say: "Worldwide, clinicians within primary care and other health-care settings are not responding adequately to domestic violence.
"In this study, we show the effectiveness of a brief intervention of training and support with a simple referral pathway to domestic violence advocacy."
The chair of the RCGP Dr Clare Gerada said: "Only a small number of women seeking medical help for problems related to domestic violence will present to their GP with physical injuries, but the impact is felt in every GP's surgery, through patients with mental health issues, problems with self esteem or unexplained physical symptoms.
"In many cases, general practice is the first port of call for women who want help to change their situation and the way in which a GP responds can make an immense difference to that woman's life and those of her children.
"But very few patients raise it directly, making it very difficult area for GPs to broach and deal with. I am delighted that we are now able to provide practical support that will enable doctors to have these difficult conversations and suggest solutions in a non-judgmental way."
Tags: NHS | Nursing & Midwifery | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology
Printer friendly page