GPAtlasWhat it covers
Why conflict happens in general practice, the stages it climbs through, and the warning and danger signs that come before an attack. The words, the tone and the distance that turn a situation down, and the communication models the national training uses. What to do when it goes wrong: getting away, calling for help, writing it up, the support you should be offered, and the line the practice is allowed to draw.
Who it is for
Everyone who works in the practice, reception first: receptionists and administrators, practice managers, healthcare assistants, nurses, pharmacists, GPs and trainees.
By the end you will be able to
- Name the common causes of conflict in a practice and the stages it climbs.
- Use words, tone and body language, and three models, to calm a situation.
- Spot warning and danger signs, keep a safe distance, disengage, and know the limits on force.
- Make the desk safer, press the alarm early, and leave a home visit without a row.
- Record and report an incident, and find the support that follows it.
- State the employer's duty, your own duty, and the line the practice may draw.
Modules
- Why conflict starts here
- Talking it down
- Signs and space
- The desk and the doorstep
- After it happens
Physical breakaway techniques are practised face to face where a practice needs them, and the practice's own policy on unacceptable behaviour applies.
Content mapped to the knowledge learning outcomes of the Core Skills Training Framework (England) v1.1: Conflict Resolution. Law named: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2.
Sources
- Core Skills Training Framework (England) Statutory/Mandatory Subject Guide v1.1, June 2021 (Skills for Health), Conflict Resolution: Key Learning Outcomes (archived copy)
- Conflict resolution training: implementing the learning aims and outcomes (NHS Protect, July 2013), including the conflict resolution training curriculum
- NHS Conflict Resolution Level 1 Core Skills Reader, version 3, January 2015 (North West Core Skills Programme)
- Conflict Resolution, Level 1 session (elearning for healthcare portal)
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2: general duties of employers to their employees
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 7: general duties of employees at work
- Violence and aggression at work: how employers can protect workers (Health and Safety Executive), definition of work-related violence
- Violence and aggression at work: reporting and learning from incidents (Health and Safety Executive)
- Protecting lone workers: employer duties (Health and Safety Executive)
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, regulation 2: 'accident' includes an act of non-consensual physical violence done to a person at work
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, regulation 4 and Schedule 1: non-fatal injuries to workers and the reporting procedure
- Violence prevention and reduction standard, second edition, December 2024 (NHS England): seven domains, 43 indicators
- Violence prevention and reduction standard assessment and improvement action plan (NHS England, PRN00202), including the reading of 'Board' for primary care
- Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018, section 1: common assault and battery
- Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018, section 3: meaning of emergency worker
- Sentencing Act 2020, section 67: assaults on emergency workers as an aggravating factor
- Criminal Law Act 1967, section 3: use of force in making arrest, etc.
- National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2015, Schedule 3, paragraphs 24 and 25: removal from the list, and removal of patients who are violent
- Removing violent patients and the special allocation scheme (British Medical Association)
- Removing patients from your practice list (British Medical Association)
- The NHS Constitution for England (Department of Health and Social Care): patients and the public, your responsibilities
- Violence and abuse towards general practice staff by patients and the public: a scoping review (British Journal of General Practice, 2025)
- Public Order Act 1986, section 5: threatening or abusive words or behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3: risk assessment
- Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, section 119: nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises (checked: 'NHS premises' is hospital land, so it does not reach a GP surgery)
GPAtlas is not accredited, verified or endorsed by Skills for Health or NHS England. Acceptance of this training is at the discretion of your employer, who remains responsible for confirming it meets local requirements. Your employer may require more frequent refreshers than the guidance period; the practice's own policy applies. Some pictures and films in our courses, and the film narration, are made with AI tools. We check every one for accuracy before we publish it.