Code of Conduct

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It is the aim of the Primary Care Organisation and all Practices to provide a safe and pleasant environment in which patients and visitors may receive healthcare and staff may carry out their work.

To assist in providing this, all persons accessing the services of the practice are expected to observe the Practice Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct states:

Persons attending the practice whether in person or by telephone should behave in a manner that respects the rights of others and the practice environment.

The following behaviour falls outside the Code of Conduct and is therefore considered to be unacceptable:

• Excessive noise which is obtrusive to others in the vicinity
• Use of threatening/abusive/obscene language
• Offensive remarks of a racial, sexual or personally derogatory nature
• Damage to property
• Theft
• Spitting
• Threatening/aggressive gestures and/or actions
• Inappropriate behaviour involving alcohol/substance misuse

Any person acting in an unacceptable manner will be asked by a member of staff to stop behaving in such a way and to observe the Practice Code of Conduct.

If a person repeatedly fails to observe the Code of Conduct, the Primary Care Organisation will make alternative arrangements for the patient concerned to receive his/her healthcare. The Primary Care Organisation will advise these arrangements to the patient in writing.

Violent behaviour is never tolerated and will result in police prosecution of the aggressor and the direct and immediate removal of the patient concerned from the practice list.​​​​​

Violent or Abusive Patients

The practice 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 all the staff and patients has to be in place.  All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. The staff 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. 

The practice operates a zero-tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse, and has the right to remove violent, aggressive and abusive patients from its list of patients with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. 

Unacceptable behaviour includes (but is not restricted to) aggression, disorder, intimidation, threats and bullying, and applies to behaviour within the practice, during home visits, as part of phone calls, emails and on social media e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, blogs and networking sites, etc. 

In cases where violent, aggressive, or abusive behaviour is deemed to be illegal, the practice will refer the matter to the Police in addition to taking action to remove the offending patient from its list. Where a patient behaves in this manner, immediate withdrawal from the Doctors list will be carried out.