Zero Tolerance Policy
Cantourage Clinic supports the government's 'Zero Tolerance' campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that health service staff have aright to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients must be in place.
All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. Cantourage Clinic 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.
Cantourage Clinic staff understand that patients feeling unwell do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint however, threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour intending to and causing harassment, alarm or distress will not be tolerated. This may result in removal from Cantourage Clinic patient register and staff have the right to report such events to the police for investigation.
For Cantourage Clinic to maintain good relations with their patients, we ask all patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable (please note this relates to events in person, via telephone, email or online / via social media):
o Using bad language or swearing at any Cantourage Clinic staff.
o Any physical violence towards any member of Cantourage Clinic staff or other patients including pushing, shoving and any unwanted physical contact.
o Verbal abuse/ threats towards the staff in any form including verbal insults.
o Racial abuse, sexual harassment.
o Causing damage/stealing from any Cantourage Clinic premises, staff or patients
o Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently
o Hostility towards Cantourage Clinic staff, patients or visitors motivated by the victim’s disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.
o 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.
Removal from Cantourage Clinic patient register:
A good relationship between each patient and Cantourage Clinic is based on mutual respect and trust. The removal of a patient from the Cantourage Clinic register is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-Cantourage Clinic relationship.
Removal from the Cantourage Clinic register will be considered when despite best efforts relations between the patient and Cantourage Clinic has irretrievably broken down and it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of Cantourage Clinic to discontinue the relationship. An exception to this would be an incident where the Police are involved. This may result in immediate removal from the patient register.
Removing other members of the household:
In cases where there is more than one resident of a household registered with Cantourage Clinic, it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the household. The prospect of contact with patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice (by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides) or being regularly confronted by there moved patient, may make it too difficult for Cantourage Clinic to continue to look after other occupants of the household.
This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and by continuing to treat the other members of the household could put doctors or their staff at risk of harm or distress.
Policy Monitoring and review:
The operation of this policy will be monitored for its impact on different staff and patient groups in line with the Equality Act 2010. This will enable Cantourage Clinic to assess whether any differences have an adverse impact on a particular group, such that further action would be required.
The policy will be reviewed at least annually or sooner if incident, event or changes to legislation dictate an early review.
