Decision Report 201707096

Summary

Ms C complained that the practice unreasonably removed her from the patient list. Ms C had had concerns about the treatment which she had received from the practice previously but these had been dealt with under the complaints procedure. Ms C was surprised to subsequently receive a letter from the NHS practitioners services advising her of the decision taken by the health board to remove her from the practice patient list due to a breakdown in the professional relationship. Ms C then learned that the instruction to remove her came from the practice and that she had not been given an explanation as to how the practice had come to their decision.

We took into account the contractual regulations and relevant guidance regarding the removal of patients from the practice list. This sets out that, other than in cases involving violence or aggression, a patient whose behaviour is giving cause for concern should be given a written warning informing them that they will be removed from the practice list if they do not alter their behaviour. The warning should last for 12 months. While the practice did have concerns about Ms C's actions, and did discuss the issue with the health board, staff did not formally bring them to Ms C's attention in line with the regulations and guidance and therefore she was unaware of the practice's concerns. We upheld the complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to Ms C for unreasonably removing her from the practice list. The apology should comply with the SPSO guidelines on making an apology, available at www.spso.org.uk/leaflets-and-guidance.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• Staff should be aware of and comply with the guidance and regulations where there are concerns about patient behaviour.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.