The NHS operate 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.
This organisation has a zero-tolerance policy towards violent, threatening or abusive behaviour towards staff, patients or visitors. At no time will such behaviour be tolerated and it will be managed appropriately and consistently.
While violence and threatening behaviour is often easy to label, abuse may take many forms. For this policy, abuse can be towards any service user, visitor or staff member and includes (but is not limited to) sexism, racism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and ageism, or harassment or abuse based on disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.
This document will illustrate the organisation’s commitment to the safety of staff, contractors and patients while explaining the requirement for staff to undertake training and report incidents effectively to ensure that appropriate action is taken against offenders. It is policy for this organisation to press charges against any person who damages or steals organisation property or assaults any member of staff, visitor or patient.
It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that they recognise, respond to and take the necessary action when dealing with any patient who is behaving in a violent, threatening or abusive manner towards colleagues, contractors or patients. It remains a management responsibility to ensure that all staff have undertaken the necessary training to be able to respond appropriately.