About the surgery

Puddletown surgery is committed to providing a safe, respectful and welcoming environment for everyone. We have a duty of care to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff, and we ask all patients, visitors and team members to treat one another with courtesy and respect at all times.

We operate in line with NHS Zero Tolerance guidance. Any form of abuse, aggression, threatening behaviour or violence towards our staff or other patients is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. This includes physical assault, verbal abuse, intimidating or aggressive behaviour, offensive language, discrimination, harassment, and behaviour that leaves staff feeling distressed or unsafe.

We also expect patients to use our services responsibly. This includes attending appointments free from the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, using the appropriate practice communication channels, respecting our appointment system, and recognising that you may be offered an appointment with the most appropriate clinician for your healthcare needs, which may not always be your preferred GP. Requests that are persistent, unreasonable or disrupt the delivery of care to other patients may be considered unacceptable.

Examples of unacceptable behaviour include, but are not limited to:

• Violence or threats of violence.
• Verbal abuse, swearing or offensive language.
• Aggressive or intimidating behaviour.
• Racist, sexist or discriminatory remarks.
• Offensive gestures or harassment.
• Entering staff-only or clinical areas without permission.
• Theft, vandalism or deliberate damage to practice property.
• Drug or alcohol misuse on practice premises.
• Altering prescriptions or attempting to obtain medication fraudulently.
• Persistent or unrealistic demands that disrupt the safe delivery of services, including insisting on seeing only a particular clinician, refusing appropriate appointments, demanding routine same-day appointments, or contacting staff through personal email or social media.
• Repeated malicious or derogatory comments about staff or the practice, whether made in person, in writing or online.

This list is not exhaustive, and we reserve the right to take action where behaviour is considered unacceptable.

Where appropriate, we will always seek to resolve concerns through discussion and conciliation. However, where behaviour is serious, or where previous warnings have not resulted in improvement, we may issue a first and final warning or remove a patient from our practice list in accordance with NHS guidance. Any incident involving physical assault, serious threats, or behaviour requiring police involvement will be reported to the police and may result in immediate removal from the practice list.

The surgery recognises that, in rare circumstances, the professional relationship between a practice and a patient may break down to the extent that it is no longer possible to continue providing care. Where this occurs, any decision to remove a patient from the practice list will follow the appropriate procedures and reasons will be provided in writing where applicable.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service we provide, we encourage you to raise your concerns through our complaints procedure so that we have the opportunity to address them. Patients are also free to register with another GP practice if they feel their needs would be better met elsewhere.

By working together with mutual courtesy, patience and respect, we can ensure our practice remains a safe, supportive and professional environment for everyone.