Zero Tolerance Policy

The NHS operates 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. 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.

Portcullis Surgery is a training practice and takes pride in the quality of our teaching and training ethos. For many years we have welcomed medical students and GP Trainees at this practice, many of whom are multi-cultural  and we are very fortunate that our patients have always been very welcoming and supportive of all our students and trainee doctors. We have an active zero-tolerance policy in place for dealing with racism, violence, and intimidation – of all forms.

We are very aware that visiting your GP can, at times, be stressful and concerning for patients. Delays in obtaining appointments and delays in surgery times, due to unforeseen emergency appointments, can also add to these concerns.

To successfully provide our services a mutual respect between staff and patients has to be in place. GPs and staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked, abused or treated badly in any way. Our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. We 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.

Portcullis Surgery operates a zero tolerance policy to any abuse or bad behaviour towards its staff, doctors or other patients; this could be physical, verbal or online abuse. Aggressive behaviour, be it physical, verbal or online, 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 our patients we would like to ask all our patients to be aware of the types of behaviour we occasionally see that are unacceptable:

• Using bad language, shouting or raising of voices at practice staff
• Any physical violence towards any member of our team or other patients
• Verbal abuse towards staff or patients in any form including shouting
• 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 be met
• Being perceived to bully or manipulate a staff member to obtain something
• Causing damage to, stealing or not returning practice equipment from the practice’s premises, staff or patients
• Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently
• Racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic or other intolerant language, discrimination or sexual harassment will not be tolerated.