The Practice staff shall always show due respect and courtesy when dealing with patients and their representatives. We respectfully request that patients and their representatives do the same when dealing with members of the Practice Team.
The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the Practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard Practice Staff, Patients and other persons.
No form of aggression (whether verbal or physical in nature) will be tolerated - any instances of such behaviour on the Practice Premises may result in the perpetrator being reported to the Police and removed from the Practice’s List of Registered Patients.
Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.
Violent or Abusive Patients
Patients will be removed from our medical list where they are:
- violent towards a doctor, practice staff or other patients on the practice premises or
- causes physical damage to practice premises or other patient’s property or
- Gives verbal abuse or makes threats towards the doctor, Practice staff or other patients or
- Gives verbal or physical racist abuse, or
- Is violent or uses or condones threatening behaviour to a doctor (or some other member of the Primary Health Care Team) who is visiting the patient’s home. Such behaviour may involve the patient, a relative, a household member, or pets (such as unchained dogs) or
- Fraudulently obtains drugs for non-medical reasons or
- Deliberately lies to the doctor or other member of the PHC team in order to obtain a service or benefit deception or
- Attempts to use the doctor to conceal or aid any criminal activity or
- Steals from the practice premises.