The practice does not discriminate against patients on the grounds of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, colour, and religious belief or the perceived economic work or amount of work they are likely to generate by virtue of their clinical condition. A good patient doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of a patient from the practice list will continue to be an exceptional and rare event and a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest just as much as that of the practice that they should find a new practice.
There is public concern that patients may be removed from the practice list simply for making a complaint. We believe that complaints made in a reasonable and constructive manner, can help the practice to improve services to patients. The practice may use the in-house complaints procedure to discuss any instances where a patient is felt to be behaving inappropriately. This will give patients early notification of a possible problem in their relationship with their doctor along with an opportunity to discuss ways of preventing further difficulties.
The practice believes, however, that complaints that take the form of a scurrilous personal attack on members of the practice or contain allegations which are clearlly unfounded, indicate a serious breakdown in the patient-doctor relationship. It is the breakdown of the relationship, rather than a complaint per se which will form the basis of any decison to remove a patient from the list; it may then be in the patient’s best interest to seek care at another practice. The practice will not remove a patient from the list solely because they have made a complaint.
The removal of patients from the practice list policy, is available from our Business Manager on request.
