PATIENT BEHAVIOUR

Our reception team are doing their best to deal with the increased number of telephone calls due to seasonal flu vaccination sessions, the routine telephone calls and now the additional work of the Covid booster programme.

Many of our receptionists have been left upset and distressed in the last few weeks due to the abusive behaviour of some of our patients and it is vital that the public are made fully aware of just how much strain practices are under and how the service may have to change in order to manage what is in effect a unmanageable workload.

Our protocol is that a patient will be called by a GP/ANP to assess their condition and if deemed necessary by the clinician the patient will be brought into the Surgery for a physical examination – our reception staff cannot make this decision.

Please DO NOT shout at our reception team members because you cannot book a face to face appointment without the patient first speaking to a GP/ANP.

We cannot book every patient with a face to face appointment as it is necessary to maintain social distancing in the waiting room which can only safely accommodate 6 patients (due to our covid vaccination centre pods still being in place.)

This protocol is to protect you, other patients and our staff.

We have a zero tolerance approach to abusive and intimidating behaviour and we will follow our zero tolerance policy and issue warnings/remove patients from our practice list as appropriate.

Please click on the link below to read the most recent letter sent to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care expressing concerns from the BMA.

bma.org.uk/media/4629/21092021-bma-to-secretary-of-state-for-health.pdf