title: General practice as a fortress - occupational violence and general practice receptionists.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Occupational violence is well documented among general practice receptionists, who are singularly vulnerable because they are placed in the general practice 'frontline'. One response to this threat has been to physically isolate reception staff from waiting room patients by having a perspex shield at the reception desk and a locked door between waiting room and staff areas.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative study employing semistructured interviews, an inductive approach and a thematic analysis. The study explored the experiences and perceptions of three receptionists who work in a practice with a perspex and lockdown system, and 16 who work in practices without these.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Receptionists were universally positive about the safety measures for reducing risk. But there was also a view that these safety measures potentially compromise the feeling of a practice being patient centred by alienating patients from staff and, paradoxically, increasing levels of patient violence and staff fearfulness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These safety measures, while viewed positively by receptionists, may have adverse effects on patient-staff relationships and exacerbate violence and increase staff fearfulness.
authors.affiliation: Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development Program, Discipline of General Practice, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. parker.magin@newcastle.edu.au
authors.forename: Parker
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Magin
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Joyce
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goode
authors.forename: Georgina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cotter
mesh_terms: D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D008496:Medical Receptionists; D009517:New South Wales; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D016272:Occupational Health; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017132:Workplace