Unacceptable Behaviour

We understand patients have a right to be heard, understood and respected and we aim to be accessible to everyone. There are times when the behaviour or actions of someone accessing the Practice makes it difficult for staff to help. 

Unreasonable Behaviour

There are many reasons why a patient’s behaviour may become unreasonable, including substance misuse, should they be scared, anxious or distressed, or if they are frustrated, unwell or in pain. As a result of this, staff may experience patients who are either demanding, unwilling to listen and/or uncooperative. There are several factors associated with difficult and challenging interactions with patients, such as a lack of resources, waiting times and interruptions during consultations. For these reasons, the ‘demanding’ or ‘difficult’ patient can potentially consume a large amount of the clinician’s and manager’s time.

Inappropriate Behaviour

This can be defined as unwanted by the recipient, or has the purpose or effect of violating the recipient's dignity and/or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

This takes on many forms, including face to face, via telephone and/or online.

We recognise what constitutes this type of behaviour can be viewed as subjective. We aim to ensure objectivity when dealing with these situations.

Violent or Abusive Behaviour

The Practice has a zero tolerance approach towards such behaviour. It is now a specific offense to assault, obstruct or hinder NHS staff in GP Practices. Should violent or abusive behaviour be directed towards a patient or visitor, we may report the incident to Police Scotland.

Some examples of inappropriate behaviour that is deemed to be unreasonable include, but are not limited to the following:

• Aggressive or abusive behaviour, such as shouting or personal insults, in person or via social media
• Discrimination or harassment when related to a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010
• Unwanted physical contact
• Spreading malicious rumours or gossip or insulting someone
• Stalking
• Offensive comments/jokes or body language
• Persistent and unreasonable criticism
• Unreasonable demands, impossible requests and persistent or blatant disregard of treatment or requirements by the practice. This could include regular failures to attend appointments without being able to give any reasonable explanation
• Coercion, such as pressure to subscribe to a particular political or religious belief

Some examples of violent or abusive behaviour include, but are not limited to the following:

• Any incident in which “an employee is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work” (HSE 1996)
• The intentional application of force to the person of another, without lawful justification, resulting in physical injury or personal discomfort
• The use of inappropriate or discriminatory words or behaviour causing distress and/or constituting harassment
• Behaviour that is hostile, destructive and/or violent
• Physical assault: the intentional application of force to the person of another, without lawful justification, resulting in physical injury or personal discomfort
• Non-physical assault: the use of inappropriate or discriminatory words or behaviour causing distress and/or constituting harassment

If you are found to be behaving in any manner mentioned above, or in a way considered unacceptable, you will be removed from our Practice list.