§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients have been removed from doctors' lists in Walsall for each year since 1970; how many have been removed as a result of disagreements with the doctor; and if the figures for 1975, if available, can be expressed as (a) those patients under 86 years of age and (b) those patients over 86 years of age.
§ Dr. OwenFrom 1973, the earliest year for which figures are available, the numbers removed from doctors' lists at the doctor's request have been as follows:
1973 355 1974 709 1975 (to date) 962, including 288 removed from the list of one practice when a partner resigned without replacement. On 1st April 1974, when the boundaries of Walsall were extended, the number of patients on doctors' lists increased from over 190,000 to over 280,000.
Information is not available as to the numbers removed as a result of disagreement with the doctor, since neither patients nor doctors are required to give reasons for requesting transfer.
Six patients of the 1975 total were over the age of 86. All found other doctors.