Zero Tolerance

East Norfolk Medical Practice staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to patient needs and circumstances and appreciate that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner. However, the behaviour listed below will not be tolerated and may result in the incident being reported to Police and / or patients being removed from the Practice list.

We ask that you treat your GPs and their staff courteously at all times. The below behaviours are deemed unacceptable, this list is not exhaustive:

  • Verbal abuse including using bad language, shouting, or raising of voices,
  • Threatening, aggressive, or abusive language, swearing or offensive remarks,
  • Malicious allegations relating to members of staff, other patients, or visitors,
  • Offensive gestures or behaviours,
  • Threats or threatening behaviour,
  • Any physical violence towards any member of our team or other patients,
  • Offensive comments against a protected characteristic in accordance with the Equality Act,
  • Discrimination,
  • Sexual harassment,
  • Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff,
  • Abuse of Practice communication channels, including excessive communication,
  • Being perceived to bully or manipulate a staff member to obtain something,
  • Wilful damage to practice property,
  • Theft,
  • Obtaining drugs and / or medical services fraudulently,
  • Abusing alcohol or drugs on practice premises,
  • Drug dealing on practice premises.

We acknowledge that instances of aggression / inappropriate language may form part of a patient’s illness, this will be taken into consideration before a decision is made.

Warning letters may be issued to patients if their behaviour is deemed inappropriate and / or unacceptable. This could result in removal from the Practice list and the Practice may need to consider removing other household members to ensure the safety of our staff.