We are committed to providing a safe, respectful and supportive environment for our patients and our staff. All members of the practice team have the right to work without fear of abuse or violence. We ask that patients and their representatives treat our staff with the same courtesy and respect that they receive in return.

The NHS operates a Zero Tolerance policy towards violence, aggression and abuse. This includes behaviour that occurs in person, over the telephone, or in writing (including email and online messages).

Unacceptable behaviour includes:

• physical violence or threats of violence
• shouting, swearing or abusive language
• discriminatory, racist, sexist or hateful comments
• intimidation, harassment or bullying
• aggressive or inappropriate behaviour towards any member of staff
• repeated unreasonable demands or refusal to follow practice processes

Our response to abusive or violent behaviour:

• Any incident of violence or serious threat will be reported to the police immediately.
• The practice has the right to remove a patient from our list with immediate effect if their behaviour puts staff or other patients at risk.
• For less serious but unacceptable behaviour, the practice may issue a written warning.
• If behaviour does not improve after a warning, the patient may be removed from the practice list.

Removal from the practice list

If a patient is removed, they will be notified in writing and the reason for removal will be recorded in their medical record. In most cases, patients are responsible for registering with another GP practice. In cases of serious violence or threat, the removal may be immediate and NHS Wales Shared Services will arrange for the patient to be placed in the Special Allocation Scheme.

We are here to help, and we understand that illness and stress can make situations difficult. However, aggression or abuse towards our staff will not be tolerated under any circumstances.