12/03/2026
We received a request from the courier to provide context on the statement issued last week relating to an article they are preparing to publish. To ensure all patients are fully informed please see below our full response.
To be clear, the practice has not introduced a new zero-tolerance policy. Protecting staff from abuse, aggression, and violence has always been standard across general practice and the NHS. We issued our recent statement because social media commentary had begun targeting and identifying individual members of our team. As employers with a legal duty of care, the GP Partners felt it was important to act quickly.
Over recent months, our administrative staff have faced increasing verbal abuse in person, on the phone, and online. There was also a serious incident in which a staff member was physically assaulted. This was reported to the police and is progressing through the legal system.
Our administrative colleagues do not make decisions about appointments, triage, or prescriptions—they follow the systems and guidance set by the GP Partners and clinical leadership. As the first point of contact for patients, they often experience the brunt of frustration when services are under pressure or patients are unhappy with clinical decisions. Recent social media commentary has had a significant impact on staff wellbeing, with some members of the team experiencing absence from work, which reduces our capacity to support patients.
We want to be clear that our statement is not intended to dismiss patients’ frustrations. We regularly review and improve our processes, but changes must remain realistic within the NHS framework and the resources available to us.
Since issuing the statement, we have also been encouraged by the overwhelming support from patients, including phone calls, cards, flowers, and personal messages thanking staff for their work, which was enormously appreciated by the whole team.
We hope this clarifies the purpose of our statement.
Orwell and St Serf's Medical Practices
