Zero Tolerance

The Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff or one of the doctors or nursing team is treated in an abusive or violent way.

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.

Staff working at the practice 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.

NHS Employers state:

NHS staff should be able to come to work without fear of violence, abuse or harassment from patients or their relatives.

In most cases, patients and their relatives will be appreciative towards those who treat them but a minority of people are abusive or violent towards staff.

The NHS is committed to dealing with this problem.  The NHS has had a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude towards violence since 1999 and there has been a significant increase in the numbers of offenders being prosecuted since 2003, when the Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) was set up.

The NHS CFSMS split its responsibilities early in 2009 and the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS) now deals with the security of people and property across the NHS in England.  It is clear that some staff groups are more at risk than others. This may depend on the part of the NHS in which they work and whether they are frontline staff or not.