Zero Tolerance Statement

NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board supports the UK Government’s NHS zero-tolerance policy for abusive or threatening behaviour towards its staff.

It is a legal requirement under health and safety legislation that NHS employers must ensure that all staff feel safe and supported at work.

Staff should also feel empowered to report incidents of violence and abuse and feel confident that action will be taken to keep them and others safe. This aligns with the NHS People Promise ‘we are safe and healthy’.

We are committed to a strict policy of zero tolerance in response to any sort of discrimination, harassment, bullying or abuse regarding a person’s disability, race, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religious beliefs, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity or socio economic background.

We take allegations of threatening, abusive, humiliating, anti-social, violent or hurtful behaviour against any of our colleagues or patients very seriously and we fully support and encourage anyone who has experienced this or witnessed a colleague who tolerated this to come forward. No act is considered to be too small to be addressed.

We will not tolerate the use of bad language, swearing, or verbal insults. We will not accept persistent, vexatious or unrealistic demands that cause stress to our staff. We reserve the right to immediately cease communication in cases where such behaviour is displayed. 

We welcome and encourage the public to contact us when needed, but we do ask that our staff are always treated courteously, and you are entitled to expect the same treatment and respect from them.

We hope that you welcome our zero tolerance approach, which is in place to protect the interests of our hard-working colleagues as well as all the patients and communities we serve.