Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safety of frontline NHS staff, including receptionists working in GP surgeries.

Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work without fear of violence or abuse.

Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place measures, including, security, training, and emotional support for staff affected by violence, abuse, or harassment.

At a national level there are several policy measures being implemented and developed to help keep staff safe and to prevent and reduce violence in the workplace. This includes measures to improve data and reporting, strengthen risk assessment, and improve training and support for victims. This will be bolstered by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan. The standards will be included in the NHS Oversight Framework and act as an early warning signal for the Care Quality Commission.

Additionally, the You and your general practice guidance makes clear that general practice staff should be treated with respect. A practice also reserves the right to remove patients from their list if they are violent or abusive to staff. The You and your general practice guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/you-and-your-general-practice-english/