ICB mistakenly returned abusive patients to same GP practice following removal
An ICB mistakenly advised patients who had appealed being on the special allocation scheme that they could return to their original GP practice.
On at least two occasions, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) ICB told a patient they could return to the practice that had removed them from its patient list, according to LLR LMC.
The scheme ensures violent or abusive patients who have been removed from a practice patient list continue to access healthcare services at a designated special allocation scheme GP practice.
Practices can immediately remove a patient who has been violent or made staff fear for their safety, if the practice has made a police report. Practices do not need to obtain a police incident number or crime number in order to remove a patient from its list.
In correspondence informing them of their successful appeal, the ICB advised the patients they could return, following which they ‘tried to make an appointment as normal’ at the practice, according to LMC chief executive Dr Grant Ingrams.
Dr Ingrams told Pulse: ‘We had a complaint from a couple of practices where a patient had appealed being on the special allocation scheme, and the patient had gone back to the practice and said “you’ve got to see me now”.
The LMC brought the details on one of the incidents to the ICB and successfully argued that leaving the process of entering or leaving the scheme is a separate process from the practice’s decision to remove the patient.
Dr Ingrams said: ‘I had conversation with them (LLR ICB), went through the regulations with them, and they changed it, but why did it happen in the first place?’
‘The team has told us it’s not going to happen again, and to be fair to them they have shared with us and got us to agree on the wording of the letter that is going to be sent to the patient.
‘This wasn’t done out of malice, just a lack of thinking through what the regulations say.’
‘You can see where appealing against being on the scheme might be appropriate, because the issue was with a particular member of staff within the practice which wouldn’t occur elsewhere. So they’re probably not fit to be on the special allocation scheme, but that doesn’t mean that they get told they can go back to the original practice.’
Pulse has reported extensively on incidents of GP abuse and vandalism of GP practices.
Last year, NHS England updated its guidance on managing violent patients after a coroner warned that GPs should consider patients’ learning disabilities and neurodivergence before removing them from their patient list.
LLR ICB declined to provide a comment to Pulse.
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