All of the staff at Prospect Medical Practice empathise and understand how frustrating it can be accessing clinical services within the NHS at this current time. We are all patients within the NHS too and are facing the same challenges due to the unprecedented increase in demand on all NHS services.
Our staff members are facing escalating daily abuse from our patients; this can range from unreasonable demands, general rudeness, shouting, and swearing to personal attacks and threats of violence. This is bullying and harassment. These sorts of things now happen multiple times each day to various members of staff throughout our teams. These behaviours will no longer be tolerated.
We understand that anxieties around health and wellbeing can lead to heightened emotions; we recognise that our patients are understandably and reasonably worried about their own health or that of a loved one. In these instances we, of course, understand patients can get frustrated or upset. However, there is no excuse for abusing any member of our team: there are no circumstances in which our staff should face shouting, swearing or feeling threatened within their place at work. Being made to cry at work is not acceptable.
Our staff work hard, often in difficult circumstances, to maintain the running of our services. We too have had to deal with the challenges of staff contracting COVID or being in isolation. Please remember that we are being asked to work the way we are by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.
Despite what some patients may think, all of our staff care deeply about providing each and every patient they come into contact with a high level of care and a positive outcome to whatever their enquiry may be.
Please do not forget that the receptionist you are speaking to on the telephone, the nurse/healthcare person/phlebotomist you are being seen by in a clinic or the GP with who you are being treated by is a fellow human being. We are all dealing with the same challenges within our personal lives that you are facing. Our staff are working hard and doing their best to provide 6853 patients at Prospect with a safe, effective and caring service.
Please treat our staff with the dignity and respect they deserve.
The Partners of Prospect Medical Practice