Zero Tolerance Policy

The practice is committed to providing a safe working environment by minimising the risk of violent and aggressive behaviour at work. The working environment is defined as the practice premises and other premises where work is undertaken as part of a person’s official duties including, travelling to and from the other premises.

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

The Practice supports the government’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that Dentists 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. In addition, The NHS nationally has agreed to a zero tolerance policy. The NHS has a zero tolerance policy of all violence and aggression. This policy is for the protection of all NHS staff, but also for the protection of other patients, their families, visitors, etc. In order to ensure that this zero tolerance approach is adhered to, it is essential to have robust policies and procedures in place. All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. 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.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.

The practice recognises that there can be contributory reasons for patients behaving in difficult or challenging ways, however, where this tips over into aggression or violence, the practice will adopt a zero tolerance approach.

Eastcote Lane Dental Practice aims to provide high quality healthcare and we will treat all patients with respect and dignity. In return we expect all our staff to be treated with respect. We will not tolerate abusive language or threatening behaviour against any member of staff. Such behaviour may result in the offender being denied access to the dentist and/or further measures as appropriate.

In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:

• Using bad language or swearing at practice staff
• Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving
• Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff
• Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice
• Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted.

Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot:

• Causing damage/stealing from the Practice’s premises, staff or patients
• Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently

We ask you to treat your Dentists and their staff courteously at all times.

REMOVAL FROM THE PRACTICE LIST

A good patient-practice relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of the practice, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved. Please note that If any patient is abusive or violent towards any member of staff or any other persons on the practice premises, the practice retains the right to have the patient removed from their list.

 

Date Reviewed: 01/04/2024