Date published: 26 November 2024
Your local GP Surgery and organisations across primary care are dealing with unprecedented demand and lots of pressures that you might not even see, as they continue to try and provide the best patient services they can.
If you have an issue with services there are formal complaints procedures available to follow, which helps organisations to improve their services. Please ask to use these channels directly to your practice if you have frustrations and issues.
One of the pressures getting worse, reported by practices, is contact with some patients who are unacceptably confrontation and aggressive. This kind of patient behaviour is often a massive factor in staff leaving roles - which leads to further pressures in practices as recruitment processes need to begin again.
Hostile aggression, shouting, threats and in some unfortunate cases violence is NOT acceptable.
At the end of the day we're all patients. Consider that everyone, younger or older, tends to be dealing with something behind the scenes in their lives and we can be unaware of the struggles and personal battles being fought by someone. So a little bit of kindness might just go a really long way.
Everyone should be treated with respect accordingly and we know this needs to go both ways - that's why processes are in place. We know that everyone might be dealing with a lot in their lives at any given time from illness to caring for others - so that extra long delay, delivery of bad news, cancelled appointment or mistake can lead to extra frustrations which does not make life any easier.
A big thank you to all the patients who show understanding and offer criticism where required through the appropriate channels.
Consider that if the staff member was someone in your family, your child or somebody close to you - how would you want them to be treated in the same situation?
From the other point of view #weareateam and staff of all roles in organisations also need to remember we're all working towards the same goals. With all the virtual worlds, artificial intelligence and platforms these days sometimes it's easy to forget there's still human connection at the core of our health and care.
Help us, help you by using proper channels for complaints or improvements. Remember it costs nothing to be kind.
