Campaign to End Abuse in GP Surgeries

Every day General Practice staff across the UK receive verbal, and sometimes physical abuse from the very people they are trying to help. This abuse must stop. It is not ok for our staff to be subjected to aggressive and abusive language when they are doing their job. The words that patients use stay with our staff long after they have finished their shift. Some become hardened to it, some think it’s part of the job. Others go home and cry, some might leave because they just can’t face another day of rude and aggressive language.

The video below is from the national campaign to raise awareness of this issue.

The Practice supports the government’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide our services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place. All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. 

Our staff understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. However, rude or aggressive behaviour, be it intimidating, violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.

In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:

• Using insulting language, bad language or swearing at practice staff
• Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving
• Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff
• Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice
• Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot
• Causing damage/stealing from the Practice’s premises, staff or patients
• Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently
• We ask you to treat your GPs and their staff courteously at all times.

Patients should be mindful that our staff are following the rules, regulations and guidance as dictated by NHS England and the Management of the Practice. It is not in their power to change or alter these.
If you feel that you need to make a complaint, please refer to our complaints procedure detailed under the feedback and complaints section on the homepage.

Removal from the practice list

A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. If any of the behaviours listed above are reported by a member of staff, a review will be held internally and a decision made if the patient should receive a warning letter. If and when trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of the Practice, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Removing other members of the household

In rare cases, however, because of the possible need to visit patients at home it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household. The prospect of visiting patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides, or being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.