Backbytes: Braintree GP surgery's zero-tolerance of social-media whiners

"Rude" people complaining online given warning by Braintree practice manager

Social media, who needs it? Life's bad enough trying to hit 17 deadlines at once without the dastardly oiks below-the-line and on social media pointing out all your basic factual errors and spelling mistakes.

That's why Backbytes has plenty of sympathy with the practice manager, Alison Rudkin, at a GP surgery in Braintree, Essex.

According to a prominent poster in its waiting room, it has a "zero tolerance policy" towards online criticism, particularly Twitter or Facebook.

Rudkin complains that online comments amount to a form of bullying, especially when they mentioned staff by name or, horror of horrors, used naughty words. "Those sort of comments and that sort of language is a form of bullying," Rudkin told the BBC.

"Any comments we see on social media sites may be seen as a breach of our 'zero tolerance policy' it passively-aggressively advises. But "we are happy to deal with your comments/complaints in the usual way".

What? Out the back, by the dustbins, with baseball bats? Surely not...