There are several reasons why patients are removed from the surgery register:

• The patient has moved outside the practice area.
• The patient persistently does not keep appointments, without prior notification.
• There is a breakdown of trust in the doctor patient relationship.
• The patient has been verbally abusive to the doctors or staff.
• The patients behaviour has been inappropriate.
• The patient has been violent or has threatened violence.

We have a duty to protect staff from abuse, harassment and violence. Violent patients will be removed from the practice list immediately, using the relevant NHS procedure, which is part of the NHS Zero Tolerance Project.

In the case of verbal abuse or harassment we normally issue a warning however we will not hesitate to remove patients immediately if the circumstances warrant this action.

Any incidents of violence or threatened violence will be reported to the police.