ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY 

The practice fully supports the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS  have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.

We 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. We ask you to treat all staff courteously and act reasonably.

All incidents will be followed up and you will be sent a formal warning after a second incident or removed from the practice list after a third incident if your behaviour has been unreasonable.

.However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or verbal abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from The Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police will be contacted.

Removal from the practice list

The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort.

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, 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 other staff at risk.

Violence to NHS Staff: A letter to the Workforce

Date published: 5th April, 2022
Date last updated: 21st March, 2023