Violent or Abusive Behaviour

Groombridge and Hartfield Medical Group 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 these services a mutual respect between staff and patients must be in place.

Our team aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. We respectfully remind patients that staff are often confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. Our team understands that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and we will always take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated.

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

  • shouting
  • threatening, offensive or abusive language
  • threatening or disruptive behaviour
  • harassment or intimidation
  • derogatory racial or sexual remarks
  • physical violence
  • misuse or abuse of services
  • intimidating language or gestures
  • damage to practice property
  • failing to leave the practice when requested

The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event. We value and respect good patient-doctor relationships based on mutual respect and trust. When trust has irretrievably broken down, the practice will consider all factors before removing a patient from our list, and communicate to them that it is in the patient’s best interest that they should find a new practice.

Date published: 10th October, 2014
Date last updated: 4th October, 2023