In cases other than violence and abuse the decision to remove a patient from the list will only be made after careful consideration and not in the heat of the moment. Any decision will only be made after discussion at the partnership level. Alternatives, short of removal, will be considered.
These might include transferring the patient’s care to another partner (with the consent of both parties) or persuading the patient that it would be better for all concerned for them to go to another doctor outside the practice.
Patients will be advised that continued misuse of the service may lead to their removal from the list. If all else fails and the partnership as a whole agrees that it is not in the best interests of either patient or doctor for an unsatisfactory relationship to continue, it will be necessary to remove the patient from the list.
This practice considers aggressive behaviour to be any personal, abusive and aggressive comments, bad language, physical contact and aggressive gestures. No abuse of staff is acceptable whether verbal or physical. All abuse will be reported to the practice manager who will keep a log of incidents. In the case of violence towards doctors or staff, patients will be instantly removed from the practice list and the police informed.