GP practice wrongly removed patient from patient list without warning

What happened

Mr S had a medication review at his GP Practice. A few days later, the reception manager told Mr S that he could not have a six‑months' prescription for one of his medications and had only been given one month's supply until his next medication review. Over a week later, Mrs S called the Practice to check if her husband's prescriptions were ready to collect, but the Practice said they were not.

Mr S then called the Practice about his prescriptions. His behaviour in the telephone conversation was perceived by the Practice manager to be aggressive, and he was notified in writing on the same day that he would be removed from the patient list.

Mr S complained to the Practice about its handling of his prescriptions and his removal as a patient. The Practice responded saying it would have reverted to the six-month prescription the next time Mr S ordered his medication and that this was in line with its prescription policy. With regard to Mr S's removal, the Practice explained the decision had been taken under its zero tolerance policy. However, it acknowledged that it would have been better if the phone call had been transferred to the practice manager. Mr S remained dissatisfied with the Practice's responses. He wanted an apology, revisions to the Practice's relevant polices or procedures and staff to receive training on empathy and customer service.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. We obtained all the relevant medical records, correspondence and also an audio recording of the phone conversation. We sought advice from one of our GP advisers who confirmed that while matters may not have been explained to Mr S in the clearest way, the Practice's handling of his prescriptions had been appropriate.

We listened to the audio recording and did not consider Mr S's behaviour to warrant immediate removal from the Practice. We felt that, at worst, he should have had a warning about his behaviour. The Practice had not followed contractual regulations by removing him immediately without warning.

Putting it right

The Practice accepted our recommendations and apologised to Mr S and paid him £250 in recognition of the impact of the failing, and for not following contractual regulations.