Withholding_treatment_from_violentandabusive_patients_in_nhs_trusts_policy

POLICY FOR WITHHOLDING TREATMENT
FROM VIOLENT AND ABUSIVE PATIENTS
Simply Teeth Dental Practice
POLICY FOR WITHHOLDING TREATMENT FROM
VIOLENT AND ABUSIVE PATIENTS
Review Date
Distribution
Policy Statement
This policy forms part of an overall approach to managing violence and
aggression, which includes local guidelines and clinical procedures, for
example, the mental capacity act and the management of confused
patients. It is expected that this Policy will be implemented as a last resort.
There has been a dramatic increase in recent years in the level of violence and abuse faced by staff, visitors and users of the services within our practice. There is a widespread recognition within this our practice, and by Government, that we need to tackle such behaviour effectively. Our practice has a moral duty to take all reasonable steps to protect and support its staff. This policy is designed as important step in improving the our practice's ability to tackle incidents involving violence and abuse. The aim is to detail the types of behaviour which are unacceptable and the sanctions available in the face of such behaviour. This will include a mechanism whereby patients or service users who are extreme or persistent in their unacceptable behaviour can, as a last resort, be excluded Persistent unacceptable behaviour refers to behaviour both within one admission /episode of care / or contact and /or over a number of separate occasions within the period of the sanction. The policy aims to create a balance between the need to protect staff properly and the need to provide healthcare. As the first step in tackling the issues of violence and abuse, the our practice will continue to develop initiatives and training, following the introduction of this policy. This Policy has been introduced in the context of the Government's national Zero Tolerance initiative against violence in the and it must be applied effectively in all Introduction
2.1 Simply Teeth Dental Practice has a duty to provide a safe and secure environment. This applies to all staff and users of the service. Violent or abusive behaviour will not be tolerated and decisive action will be taken to protect staff and all This policy applies to all members of our practice staff, including those on honorary contracts and those working primarily for other organisations but on our practice business. All staff have a duty to enact this policy. 2.3 All clinical guidelines and procedures, by involving staff who work in the Where possible, local guidelines should include a method of identifying patients / service users or their relatives where there are known problems or where the individual is subject to sanctions or exclusion. Local guidelines and procedures will be relevant to the services provided and the specific needs of their clients while remaining within the framework of this policy. 2.4 Clinical Directorates will ensure that where they do provide treatment or care to violent or abusive patients (i.e. patients or client groups with known behavioural problems), staff are aware of the local procedures for doing so. These may include the use of medication, physical intervention and/or involvement of the police. 2.5 Where staff are required to work with patients or client groups with known behavioural problems or where the nature of the work entails additional personal risk (i.e. lone workers and workers entering high risk situations) our practice will support specific strategies and initiatives aimed at protecting those staff. 2.6 Staff must report individual incidents to their manager and submit an incident

Source: http://www.dentist-essex-hertfordshire.co.uk/docs/Withholding_Treatment_from_ViolentAndAbusive_Patients_in_NHS_Trusts_Policy.pdf