Zero Tolerance Policy - Expectations

Southwest Family Health Centre is committed to providing a safe, secure and respectful environment for all patients and staff. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act R.S.O. 1990, all workplaces have an obligation to keep staff safe from workplace violence and harassment, including verbal abuse and/or harassment.

We treat our patients with courtesy and respect, and we ask the same in return. We ask that you treat your provider and all other practice staff courteously- without violence, abuse, harassment, disruptive, or inappropriate behaviour.

Providers and staff have the right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. We respectfully advise you that words and/or actions that make others feel threatened and/or demeaned will not be tolerated, and are unacceptable.

This Zero Tolerance plan includes actions of agression or threats made in person, over the telephone, or in written communication. These include negative behaviours made towards staff or patients. Southwest Family Health Centre considers disruptive and inappropriate behaviour to be:

• (Attempted or actual), aggressive, threatening, or intimidating physical actions.
• Disrespectful or demeaning language, comments, remarks, jokes, or innuendos that degrade, ridicule, or offend.
• The use of aggressive, threatening or abusive language, (including raising of the voice, swearing/cursing, shouting), which threatens or intimidates.
• Failure to observe Southwest Family Health Centre's policies.

This plan applies throughout this premises, including the parking lot and grounds. It also applies to any employee or provider away from the practice, but only in so far as it relates to the business of the practice.

Immediate action will be taken when incidents described above occur. Individual(s) may be asked to leave or the police may be called. Any instance of threat or physical abuse will be reported to the police.

Instances of abusive/threatening behaviour will be reported to the Office Practice Manager and recorded into an incident log. A warning letter may be issued to the patient, at the discretion of the physician. The patient may contact the Office Practice Manager to discuss this warning letter if they wish to do so. When the Incident Log shows a second recorded offence, the patient will be sent a Final Warning Letter informing them of their breach of the Zero Tolerance Policy, and they may face dismissal from the practice, again at the discretion of the physician.