Zero Tolerance Policy.

Specialist Medical Services Group is committed to providing a safe, respectful environment for our clinicians, our reception and nursing teams, and our patients. Healthcare workers experience higher rates of workplace violence and aggression than most other occupations, and this affects staff wellbeing, staff retention, and ultimately the quality of care patients receive.

We do not accept aggressive or threatening behaviour toward our team, regardless of the source, the circumstance, or the intent behind it. This policy is not a formality. It is enforced, and it applies at all three of our centres, on our phone lines, over email, on social media, and in any other channel where our team interacts with patients or members of the public.

The following behaviour, directed at our clinicians, reception team, nursing team, allied health practitioners, or other patients, will not be tolerated at SMSG:

• Verbal abuse, including shouting, personal insults, offensive language, or slurs of any kind.
• Threats of physical harm, whether specific or implied.
• Physical aggression, including pushing, grabbing, striking, or any unwanted physical contact.
• Intimidation, including standing over staff, blocking exits, or refusing to leave a consultation room when asked.
• Damage to centre property, including doors, equipment, or fixtures.
• Harassment through repeated unwanted contact, whether by phone, email, in person, or through social media.
• Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, or any other characteristic.
• Behaviour intended to frighten, humiliate, or coerce a staff member or another patient.
• Attending the centre under the visible influence of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs in a manner that affects your ability to interact safely.

We understand that health can be distressing. Patients and their families sometimes attend our centres under significant emotional strain, in acute pain, worried about a diagnosis, frustrated by a wait, or upset about a decision they have received elsewhere. Our team is trained to recognise distress and to respond with patience and care.

Being distressed is not the same as being abusive. Raising concerns firmly, questioning a clinical decision, asking to speak to a manager, or expressing frustration in words is not what this policy is about. What this policy is about is behaviour that crosses into intimidation, aggression, or personal attack.

If you are having a difficult day and something at the centre has upset you, please tell our reception team. We would rather know than not know, and we will do what we can to help.

Our response to behaviour that breaches this policy depends on the severity and context of the incident. In general, and at the discretion of the clinician or practice management team on duty, we may:

• Verbally ask you to stop the behaviour and warn you that continued behaviour will result in further action.
• End the current appointment or interaction.
• Ask you to leave the premises.
• Call security or the police if the behaviour poses a safety risk to our team or other patients.
• Formally deregister you from the practice, meaning you will not be able to book future appointments with any SMSG clinician.
• Document the incident in your file, so any future contact with SMSG clinicians is informed by the history.

Where behaviour meets a legal threshold, we may report the incident to NSW Police. Assaults on healthcare workers in NSW carry significantly increased penalties under state legislation.

Our clinicians and staff are supported to report incidents through internal channels, and every reported incident is reviewed. Where an incident has been distressing, we provide access to counselling and workplace support. Where legal or protective action is warranted, our team have the group's full backing to pursue it.

Reception staff, in particular, are trained to de-escalate difficult interactions safely. If you have called our reception line and been unhappy with a response, we would rather have that discussion through our Feedback and Complaints channel than through raised voices at the front desk.

This policy is not just about patient behaviour. Our clinicians and staff are also held to standards of respectful, professional conduct toward patients. If you feel a staff member or clinician at SMSG has behaved inappropriately toward you, please raise this through our Feedback and Complaints channel.

Complaints about a clinician's conduct or clinical care may also be raised externally with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) or the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) in New South Wales.