Zero tolerance and Unreasonable behaviour

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Zero tolerance of violence, abuse and harassment

NHS staff have the right to come to work without fear of violence, abuse, or harassment from patients, their relatives, or visitors. The NHS operates a zero tolerance policy towards violence and abuse directed at its staff.

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Violent, threatening, or abusive behaviour; including shouting, swearing, racist or discriminatory remarks, and intimidation, will not be tolerated at this practice, whether in person, over the phone, by email, or via any other means of contact.

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Where this occurs:

• The patient (or other individual) will be asked to stop or to leave the premises
• The Police may be called where appropriate
• The patient may be removed from our practice list, in line with NHS England guidance on patient removals

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This applies equally to abuse directed at reception, administrative, clinical, and management staff.

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We recognise that there may be instances where violence or aggression forms part of a patient's illness. In these circumstances, this will be discussed with the patient and form part of their care planning. This will be recorded in the patient's medical record and flagged to ensure staff are aware, and where necessary, appropriate support will be put in place, for example, ensuring a staff member does not see the patient alone.

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If you consider that you have been treated unfairly or inappropriately in relation to this policy, please ask reception to contact the Practice Manager, who will be happy to discuss your concerns.

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Unreasonable behaviour

Separately from violence and abuse, we also recognise that some patient behaviour, while not threatening, can still have a significant impact on our ability to run services safely and fairly for all patients. This may include:

• Persistently contacting the Practice by phone, email, or in person, over an unreasonably short period of time, about the same issue
• Repeatedly attending without an appointment, or refusing to leave when asked
• Making excessive demands on staff time or insisting on speaking to a specific member of staff when this isn't clinically necessary
• Sending an excessive number of communications, or extremely long or repetitive correspondence, over a short period
• Refusing to accept a decision or outcome that has already been fully explained, and repeatedly re-raising the same point without new information

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Where a patient's contact with the Practice becomes disproportionate or is affecting our ability to provide services to other patients, we may:

• Ask the patient to agree to a single, named point of contact for future communication
• Set reasonable limits on the frequency or format of contact (for example, written correspondence only)
• Inform the patient in writing that their behaviour is considered unreasonable, and explain what action we may take if it continues

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We will always try to resolve concerns fairly and will only take these steps where genuinely necessary. This is not intended to discourage patients from raising legitimate concerns or complaints.

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Our commitment to you

Our staff are here to help you, and we ask that you treat them with courtesy and respect, as we will treat you. If you're unhappy with the care or service you've received, please raise this through our Complaints Procedure, and we will do our best to resolve it.

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Reference: NHS Employers – Violence Against Staff

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