To think its ludicrous a GP surgery can prevent vaccination by...

[dameofdilemma]

Deregistering a patient?
Dp has been deregistered (without notice or consent) for the offence of being too healthy - he hasn’t made an appointment in years so they just deregistered him as a patient.

He now can’t book for the vaccine (via NHS, walk-in clinic or GP) until he’s registered again, which could apparently take weeks as there’s a backlog (of fuming deregistered patients).

The reality is many won’t bother continually phoning the surgery (and being put on hold) every day and the vaccine roll out will be slowed. down.

I was also offered an over 40s check, and yearly before that for health condition. Also optician check every year. Health check when registered with new GP. If you feel you want a health check up/ are worried you can see the nurse but not routine before 40 if you’re healthy

@SchrodingersImmigrant

I don't think free at point of access is as unique as many people in UK seem to think... If I am completely honest, I think it was hammered into people to make them stop complaining.

Without other personal insurance... ?

Australia? Like the UK compulsory payments through wages - wish ours was as comprehensively funded, but think historicaly the geopgarphy of the country payed a big part in that!

New Zealand? Free at point of access but treatments can be charged for

Sweden? Workplace health schemes, like private here.

Canada? Much like the UK, not really surprising, like Austalia etc.

Italy? Mostly free at point of access, but not alwaus!

Germany? Compulsory private insurance and expensive

I don't think many in the UK are ignorant of the heath care system of other countries. Nor do I think we ever stopped complaining

if you're healthy

The whole point of annual checks is a lot of people aren't healthy but don't know. That said, I think 40 (possibly 30) is a reasonable starting point. It's more common for people to develop issues after 40. Annual gynae checks should start younger though.

A few years ago I was informed that they might deregister me from the GP's near me.,as I have not attended their surgery for 16 years,when I first registered there. ( They appear to have not done this yet though)
I have not visited a doctor for about 27 years, But I always register at a local Gp's after moving house,as a safeguard, So I am basically just a name on a register, and don't clutter up their surgery.

I booked through the NHS website to have my vaccinations.

@MyDcAreMarvel don’t talk rubbish!! You can’t get a bloody appointment when you need one never mind an annual check up. Get real.
Disgusting that. He should have at least received a letter!!

Typical GP behaviour- but they get away with it.

I have seen mine once in 15 years for 7 minutes and have paid hundreds of thousands of tax so great deal that has turned out to be...... but they have not so far deregistered me. If they did I might send them an invoice as a joke for £200k or something to get my tax back! Just because I don't get sick does not mean I do not exist.

@Tealightsandd

if you're healthy

The whole point of annual checks is a lot of people aren't healthy but don't know. That said, I think 40 (possibly 30) is a reasonable starting point. It's more common for people to develop issues after 40. Annual gynae checks should start younger though.

not routine before 40 if you’re healthy

Personally I think it’s reasonable to start at 40, you do also get one when registering with a new GP at my age and on request. Pharmacies do BP, blood sugar, BMI, cholesterol amongst other things. It’s just that you aren’t specifically nudged to go before 40 if there is no reason.
Not sure why everyone would need a gynae check every year specifically?

Well, many people will be derigistered in the next year or so then as receptionists here are refusing triage appointments and making it very difficult to get contact!!

@MyDcAreMarvel

Well that was stupid he should have gone in for an annual check up.

The NHS is stretched to breaking point. The last thing it needs is healthy people having unnecessary check ups.

While the process doesn't seem to have worked well for a number of people here, the principle of keeping GP lists up to date is important, and not only for financial reasons. ( but I would be very unhappy to be deregistered without contacting me!)

This is bloody ridiculous. Why the hell are they allowed to deregister patients without first contacting them? I find GP surgeries the most frustrating places to deal with. They are awful in so many ways but this has to be the worst behaviour I have heard yet.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat
So where do you suggest we have these check ups @MyDcAreMarvel as they aren't offered by the NHS? I was offered an over 40s and over 45s health check, both of which I ignored as there's no way on earth I'm having unnecessary blood tests and I was told I couldn't have the check up if I didn't agree to them.

There are no annual checks in the NHS, so all those people insisting that there are are wrong. Anyone without a pre-existing condition is offered a health check every five years between the ages of 40 and 74. The checks include completely unnecessary blood tests - the sort that screen for completely irrelevant health conditions such as evaluating how well your organs—such as the kidneys, liver, thyroid, and heart—are working; or diagnosing diseases and conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, anaemia, and coronary heart disease. So, totally frivolous stuff like that. So you got offered the check - the one that could save your life - and you turned it down. Fortunately most patients who know noting at all about medicine are willing to leave it up to doctors to decide what essential tests should be done. Those blood tests can detect serious, possibly lethal, conditions long before you have any symptoms at all, and can save your life.

@MyDcAreMarvel

Well that was stupid he should have gone in for an annual check up.

Why? It would just have been wasting the GP's time.

It's likely that he received a letter checking whether he was at the same address and warning that he would be deregistered if he didn't apply, and that he missed it or didn't reply to it.

This happened to me. I hadn't been to the doctor for about 20 years and didn't need to. I discovered by accident when I went to the drop-in centre for a minor accident that I was no longer registered. I just shrugged my shoulders, realised I'd probably missed a warning letter, and re-registered without problems. No biggie.

The NHS is stretched to breaking point. The last thing it needs is healthy people having unnecessary checks

If people had annual checks, the NHS wouldn't be quite so stretched. It's false economy waiting until something is at the stage where it's more serious - and requiring more expensive, more complicated, more invasive treatment, and often more long term. Many people aren't healthy. They just don't know there's anything wrong.

Private care groups can charge annually for health-checks and lots of general tests even though they know that it is unlikely you need them done or that they will show anything you don't already know.

(I've noticed that Vets now do lots of these too... and that Vet surgeries are much smarter than they used to be :) )

The NHS only does tests if they are essential. If you are offered one - it would be best to have it done.

Since the Royal College of General Practitioners was formed, general
practice has improved. However I have the impression that it depends where you live; I am lucky in living in an academic city where GPs want to live but it used to be much worse in Welsh valley mining towns, especially for female patients, when most GPs were men. I was a lay member of the GMC for 12 years, and was on three committees which dealt with complaints.

BMA advice

I don’t think you can de-register a person because they are healthy.

Has the gp’s catchment area changed, making you now out of catchment. This can happen if a lot of new house are built, for example nearer the surgery.

Health boards deregister patients in error. We never know until that patient come in to see us. My partner got de registered from his practice because he'd never been for 4 years!

I hadn't been registered with a GP for a decade(I move a lot). I registered with a local GP online two weeks ago, so that I could get the vaccine. It was a long online form over 50 questions, then 2 days later confirmed by email it was really easy.

And had my first vaccine yesterday, booked through the nhs site.

I’m really glad I started this thread as it shows how many assumptions people have made (as we did) that have turned out not to be true, with the result that dp’s vaccine is now delayed.

If more people had this info, they might be able to check they are registered long before they are called for vaccination.

So to sum up:

• You can be deregistered without notice or contact (no letter, email, text or phone call).

• You can be deregistered even if you haven’t changed address.

• Whether you have had a check up is irrelevant (I haven’t taken up the offer of an over 40s check up but I haven’t been deregistered).

• You cannot book through the NHS site - dp spend a long time on the phone to the NHS and they explained he would have to re-register with his GP first. He could not book through the link he had received by text from the NHS.

• At least some walk in clinics will not offer you the vaccine until you have been registered with the GP. Dp tried the walk in clinic, as recommended by the GP, but was told he had to re-register first.

• Re-registration is not immediate. Dp completed the forms a week ago and still has no ETA from the GP. He has been told to phone daily.

Now much of this may well be a London thing (9 million people to be fair is a tall order) but more people should be made aware.

If dp had known there was a risk of this he would have contacted his GP months ago, so he was ready when called for the vaccine.

@MyDcAreMarvel

Well that was stupid he should have gone in for an annual check up.

Ha! Love it! An annual check-up with your friendly family doctor. They can do the whole family during a home visit, right?

Sunflowergirl1

They cannot de register you without getting in contact usually by letter. Is the address correct that they have for him

In the world of doctors and dentists surgeries that doesn’t happen.

Dh had one of his cataracts done and a lens fitted as he is nearly blind about 8 weeks ago. He had the 2nd eye booked in for the beginning of April. He arrived only to find his appointment had been cancelled because he had moved out of the area.
We haven’t moved anywhere.
He has now found out that the GPs surgery have moved him off their books so in order to get his repeat prescription of insulin he had to prove he still lives in the house we have lived in for the past 2 decades.

The thing is this isn’t the first time they have said he had moved.
We even had a visit from the police to check he was actually living in the house he said he lived in.
None of us now have a dentist. No explanation given but apparently we are no longer on the books of our regular dentist anymore.
If we had received a letter we would have put this all right but none of us have received anything in writing. We are left to find out when we try to book a check up or get a prescription or go in for a booked operation

[quote Moondust001]@PinkSparklyPussyCat
So where do you suggest we have these check ups @MyDcAreMarvel as they aren't offered by the NHS? I was offered an over 40s and over 45s health check, both of which I ignored as there's no way on earth I'm having unnecessary blood tests and I was told I couldn't have the check up if I didn't agree to them.

There are no annual checks in the NHS, so all those people insisting that there are are wrong. Anyone without a pre-existing condition is offered a health check every five years between the ages of 40 and 74. The checks include completely unnecessary blood tests - the sort that screen for completely irrelevant health conditions such as evaluating how well your organs—such as the kidneys, liver, thyroid, and heart—are working; or diagnosing diseases and conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, anaemia, and coronary heart disease. So, totally frivolous stuff like that. So you got offered the check - the one that could save your life - and you turned it down. Fortunately most patients who know noting at all about medicine are willing to leave it up to doctors to decide what essential tests should be done. Those blood tests can detect serious, possibly lethal, conditions long before you have any symptoms at all, and can save your life.[/quote]
As you know nothing about me and my reasons for turning down the check ups I suggest you keep your patronising opinions to yourself.

There are no annual checks in the NHS, so all those people insisting that there are are wrong. Anyone without a pre-existing condition is offered a health check every five years between the ages of 40 and 74. The checks include completely unnecessary blood tests - the sort that screen for completely irrelevant health conditions such as evaluating how well your organs—such as the kidneys, liver, thyroid, and heart—are working; or diagnosing diseases and conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, anaemia, and coronary heart disease. So, totally frivolous stuff like that. So you got offered the check - the one that could save your life - and you turned it down. Fortunately most patients who know noting at all about medicine are willing to leave it up to doctors to decide what essential tests should be done. Those blood tests can detect serious, possibly lethal, conditions long before you have any symptoms at all, and can save your life

I am over 40 I don’t have a pre existing condition and the only things I have been offered is the smear test and the breast screening clinic.
Blood tests? You are hard pressed to get a blood test even when you need one.

I would not leave it up to the doctors in my gps surgery to diagnose anything. Left up to them Dh and I would have been dead years ago.

Dd had measles at 5 months old so I called the GPS surgery to see what I should do. The dr said it would be pointless bringing her in as he wouldn’t know what measles even looked like.
Mind you this is the guy who I saw about something ds had and he said he would see what Dr Google said. Then he went on Google and typed in the symptoms.

I wonder if this is the same gps practice as the one we are with. It sounds like something they would do.