HL Deb 19 November 2001 vol 628 cc118-9WA
Baroness Greengross

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How they ensure general practitioner lists are kept up-to-date so that GPs do not claim capitation fees for patients who have (a) moved overseas; (b) moved to a different area; or (c) died; and [HL1010]

Whether it is legal for a general practitioner surgery to keep a patient who moved from the United Kingdom in the 1970s registered on their list. [HL1011]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)

Health authorities are responsible for maintaining lists of patients registered with general practitioners. They must remove a patient from the list when notification is received that the patient has left the United Kingdom for more than three months, moved to a new health authority area or has died. The National Duplicate Registration Initiative is addressing and reducing the incidence of duplicate registration. It would not be legal for a general practitioner surgery to keep a patient registered on their list where they left the United Kingdom in the 1970s.