Chaperone Policy

Gray's Inn Medical Group is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where the safety of patients and staff is of paramount importance. A key issue to be addressed is the need for patients experiencing consultations, examinations and investigations to be safe and to experience as little discomfort and distress as possible. Equally health professionals are at an increased risk of their actions being misconstrued or misrepresented if they conduct examinations where no other person is present and must minimise the risk of false accusations of inappropriate behaviour.

Who Can Act as a Chaperone?

A variety of people can act as a chaperone in the practice, but staff undertaking a formal chaperone role must have been trained in the competencies required. Where possible, it is strongly recommended that chaperones should be clinical staff familiar with procedural aspects of personal examination. Where suitable clinical staff members are not available, the examination should be deferred. Where the practice determines that non-clinical staff will act in this capacity, the patient must agree to the presence of a non-clinician in the examination, and be at ease with this. The staff member should be trained in the procedural aspects of personal examinations, comfortable in acting in the role of chaperone, and be confident in the scope and extent of their role.