Posted By John Webster In common with most NHS sites we have adopted a policy towards violent and aggressive behaviour from patients and other members of the public which ultimately could lead to withdrawal of treatment/exclusion in respect of particularly troublesome repeat offenders. The procedures are strict, requiring review at senior level before sanctions are imposed, and contain appeal process and maximum "sentence". It is clear that those requiring emergency treatment cannot be excluded in any circumstances. However the question has been raised that, because NHS is a public service, it can never be permissible to exclude anyone from even minor or elective treatment. Has anyone a deeper legal knowledge of this minefield, or know of any legal challenges to exclusion and whether or not they were successful? Thanks for any help John

Posted By Dianne Roberts Hello John, This is something we have done in NHS Grampian and have provisions in place for doing in the future. Feel free to contact me for further details if you wish. I must emphasise that we advocate that treatment is only withdrawn/ withheld for as long enough as needed to resume the service in a safe manner due to the geographical area in which we serve, in order to do that a number of options are made available to senior clinicians. Regards Dianne Roberts, Risk Management Support Unit.