At our Practice, we believe every patient has the right to be heard, understood, and respected. We work hard to be open and accessible to everyone.
However, we must also ensure a safe and productive environment for our staff and other patients. While we understand that illness and distress can cause people to act out of character, we will not tolerate behaviour that is abusive or hinders our ability to provide care.
1. What is “Unacceptable Behaviour”?
We do not label a patient “difficult” just because they are determined or forceful. We understand that being persistent is often necessary when dealing with health concerns.
Behaviour becomes unacceptable when it involves:
- Abuse or Violence: This includes physical harm, but also language (verbal or written) that is designed to insult, degrade, or make staff feel threatened or offended.
- Discriminatory Language: We have zero tolerance for any remarks that are racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, or sectarian.
- Unsubstantiated Allegations: Making serious accusations of criminal or unprofessional conduct without any evidence.
2. Unreasonable Demands & Contact
A demand becomes unacceptable when it starts to substantially impact the Practice’s ability to care for other patients. Examples include:
- Prescription Misuse: Repeatedly requesting early supplies, ordering outside the set timeframe, or requesting “stolen” medication without a Police Incident Number.
- Time Demands: Insisting on immediate responses or demanding to speak to a specific staff member when it is not clinically possible.
- Clinical Pressure: Insisting on a course of treatment for which there is no clinical evidence.
- Volume of Contact: Flooding the Practice with multiple calls in an hour, or sending excessive, irrelevant emails/letters that prevent staff from doing their work.
3. Refusal to Co-operate
To resolve a complaint or medical issue, we need to work together. It is considered unreasonable to bring an issue to the Practice and then:
- Refuse to provide necessary information or evidence.
- Refuse to complete required forms or summarise concerns.
- Repeatedly change the substance of a complaint to prevent it from being resolved.
4. How We Manage These Situations
Our goal is always to use the minimum action required to solve the problem. Depending on the severity, we may:
- End Telephone Calls: Staff have the right to hang up if a caller is aggressive or offensive.
- Return Correspondence: We will not respond to abusive letters or emails. We will return them and explain why.
- Limit Contact: We may restrict a patient to “Written Only” contact, or limit phone calls to a set time/day with a nominated staff member.
- Police Involvement: We will always report physical violence or credible threats to the Police.
5. Decision Making and Appeals
Except for immediate safety decisions (like ending a phone call), any decision to issue a formal warning or remove a patient from our list is made by the GP Partners.
- Written Notice: You will always be notified in writing of the reasons for a warning or removal.
- The Right to Appeal: If you feel a decision was unfair or disproportionate, you may appeal. This will be reviewed by a GP Partner or Manager not involved in the original incident.
- Review: We review all restricted cases every quarter to ensure the policy is being applied fairly.
Our Commitment
We will always tell you what action we are taking and why. Our priority is to provide a safe, fair, and efficient service for the entire community.