>Our PCT is going to stop supplying medical cards!
We've just spent a bit of time working through this.
There is no regulation that says you have to check ID.
Practices DO NOT register patients, PCTs do. The legal and practical
responsibility rests with them not to permanently register non-entitled
patients.
FWIW we decided that while there's no regulation we had "good citizen"
responsibilities.
The way we've just agreed to do this is to ask for ID for any patient
registering who can't produce a medical card or give the name and details
of the practice they are currently permanently registered with.
We've also noted that one of the common problems is with long term visas
for "visits". Although the visa is valid for many years, it's not EVER
valid for a visit of more than 6 months, and therefore NEVER establishes
residency (official advice / training).
There are other odds and ends about spotting fraudulent documents, and I'd
guess that more PCTs will be putting on training courses.
Julian
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