Responding to discrimination and abusive behaviour

Patients and staff deserve dignity. Inclusive practice does not require staff to tolerate racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, disability-related or other discriminatory abuse.

Hold both safety and access in mind

A patient may still need care even when their behaviour is unacceptable. Follow your local policy on abusive behaviour while ensuring urgent health concerns are not ignored.

Discriminatory requests can harm other patients or staff. For example, a patient refusing to interact with a staff member because of their race or accent should be managed through practice policy, not treated as an ordinary preference.

Practical response

• Set a clear limit on discriminatory or abusive language.
• Get supervisor support early.
• Use local safety procedures if threats or aggression occur.
• Record the incident factually and report according to policy.

Equality includes protecting staff and patients from discriminatory behaviour, not only improving access routes.

If discriminatory behaviour occurs, staff should get supervisor support, set clear limits and report the incident. This protects staff and lets the practice decide whether further action is needed. The patient's healthcare need can still be routed through the correct process when it is safe to do so.

Discrimination and abuse can also affect other patients in the waiting area. Staff should know how to protect colleagues and bystanders while ensuring any genuine urgent health concern is routed appropriately.

Staff safety