Patient Behaviour Zero Tolerance Policy

As an employer and provider of services, Castle Donington Surgery has a duty of care to our staff and visitors (patients) to protect their health, safety and wellbeing.  The practice has a legal responsibility to provide a safe and secure working environment for our staff, one where we recognise that their mental and emotional health is as important as physical health.

We recognise that there can be contributory reasons for patients behaving in challenging or unacceptable ways, however, when this becomes aggressive or violent we will adopt a zero-tolerance approach.  The practice follows the NHS Zero Tolerance guidance and we expect all patients and staff to behave in a respectful and acceptable manner.

Our staff have a right to be treated with respect and courtesy – they are here to help you and are following guidance set by the GP partners and the NHS when they signpost you during a call. If they cannot agree to your requests, there is always a clinical or business reason for this. Our staff do not make arbitrary decisions, but work to very strict guidelines.

Any incident in which a employee is abused, threatened, assaulted or made to feel unsafe in circumstances relating to their work is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.

Staff should not be left feeling upset or distressed following an interaction with a patient, and this includes where a patient has used serious of persistent verbal abuse, aggressive tone or body language and the use of swearing/ foul language or words that could be considered offensive.

Our staff will do their utmost to assist patients, but we reserve the right to end any phone call where a reasonable request to change behaviour (eg to stop shouting or refrain from foul language) has been ignored.

Instances of actual physical abuse or threatening behaviour will be reported to the police as an assault.

If you are genuinely unhappy with the service we have provided  you may raise concerns with us via the appropriate channels – please speak to a member of staff about our comments and complaints policy or see our web page here: https://www.castledoningtonsurgery.co.uk/leave-feedback

Removal from the Practice List

The General Medical Council (in their guidance “Professional Standards for Doctors”) states: In rare circumstances, the breakdown of trust between you and a patient means you can’t continue to provide them with good clinical care. This might occur when a patient has, for example: been violent, abusive, or made threats to you or a colleague; displayed other criminal behaviour, such as stealing from you or the premises; acted in a sexual way towards you; persistently acted unreasonably.

Acting unreasonably can include

• Demanding to speak to a specific staff member of clinician only
• Persistently refusing appointments with an appropriate clinician and insisting on a specific named clinician instead. Or refusing to see a clinician who is not a GP when that clinician is the most appropriate one for your presenting complaint
• Demanding a same-day appointment for a routine or non-urgent clinical requirement.
• Contacting members of staff via social media or their personal email instead of through appropriate channels
• Insisting that a member of staff is dismissed

 Where unacceptable behaviour has escalated to the point that the doctor/patient relationship has broken down, steps may be taken to remove that patient from the practice list. Whilst conciliation and communication would be the preferred route, we will not hesitate to remove a patient from the list where we feel the breakdown is irretrievable. 

Patients will be immediately removed from the list where we have had to report their behaviour to the police.

Where we feel that the behaviour is not serious enough to warrant removal from the practice list, but is nevertheless unacceptable, we will issue a first and final warning.   Some examples of behaviour that might result in a first & final warning or removal from the Practice list: (Note: this list is not exhaustive)

• Attending the practice under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs
• Violent behaviour
• Racial or sexual remarks
• Regular and persistent use of offensive language or aggressive / forceful tone
• Malicious allegations relating to members of staff, other patients or visitors
• Wilful damage to practice property
• Threats or threatening behaviour
• Repeated derogatory comments about the practice or individuals either verbally, in writing, or on digital platforms such as social media

Note: First and final warnings will not affect patient care or access to treatment in any way.