Code of Conduct

 

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It is the aim of the Primary Care Organisation and all Practices to provide a safe and pleasant environment in which patients and visitors may receive healthcare and staff may carry out their work.

To assist in providing this, all persons accessing the services of the practice are expected to observe the Practice Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct states:

Persons attending the practice whether in person or by telephone should behave in a manner that respects the rights of others and the practice environment

The following behaviour falls outside the Code of Conduct and is therefore considered to be unacceptable:

  • Excessive noise which is obtrusive to others in the vicinity
  • Use of threatening/abusive/obscene language
  • Offensive remarks of a racial, sexual or personally derogatory nature
  • Damage to property
  • Theft
  • Spitting
  • Threatening/aggressive gestures and/or actions
  • Inappropriate behaviour involving alcohol/substance misuse

Any person acting in an unacceptable manner will be asked by a member of staff to stop behaving in such a way and to observe the Practice Code of Conduct.

If a person repeatedly fails to observe the Code of Conduct, the Primary Care Organisation will make alternative arrangements for the patient concerned to receive his/her healthcare. The Primary Care Organisation will advise these arrangements to the patient in writing.

Violent behaviour is never tolerated and will result in police prosecution of the aggressor and the direct and immediate removal of the patient concerned from the practice list.​​​​​

 

Violent or Abusive Patients

The Practice reserves the right to withdraw a patient from our medical list of patients if they behave unreasonably towards Doctors, Nursing Staff, Reception and Administration staff or members of the public within the practice premises.

Violence, aggression or abusive behaviour towards any member of the practice team or other persons on the practice premises will not be tolerated. The NHS operates a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse, and the practice has the right to remove violent, aggressive and abusive patients from its list of patients with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Unacceptable behaviour includes (but is not restricted to) aggression, disorder, intimidation, threats and bullying, and applies to behaviour within The Harbours Medical Practice at Cockenzie, during home visits, as part of phone calls, emails and on social media for example - facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, all other social networking sites and all other internet postings including blogs. In cases where violent, aggressive or abusive behaviour is deemed to be illegal, the practice will refer the matter to the Police in addition to taking action to remove the offending patient from its list. Where a patient behaves in this manner immediate withdrawal from the Doctors list will be carried out.