A local single handed doctor has had to retire because of ill-health
(purely physical) and the PCT has decided to distribute the list between
the other practices in the same locality.
To avoid problems for the patients, the local practices agreed with the
PCT that it would be better to allocate patients to a particular
practice, rather than have a large number of patients frantically
looking for a new practice, and all the local practices trying to work
out how to accept a "fair share" of the extra patients. ( There are no
practices wanting a massive increase in list size - unfortunately..)
Obviously, all of the very close to 1800 patients need and deserve to be
given good medical care.
My question is general and about the potential conflicts when patients
are allocated (or accepted because they are part of an agreed future
allocation).
Practices are negligent if they accept more patients than they are able
to provide services to - and new patients have to be provided with the
same levels of care as existing patients.
So if we refuse to accept patients on the grounds that we registered 20
patients last week, and can't accept more until we've sorted them, we're
fine.
*** What is the position if we accepted 20 new patients last week and
the PCT ALLOCATES 400 patients this week?***
Nothing against the patients - they need care.
Nothing against the PCT - the patients need care, and the PCT needs to
ensure that they receive this care.
Nothing against the practices involved: there is agreement that the
patients need to have a practice and that this is the least bad means of
ensuring continuity of care and organised transfer of care.
What is the practice legal position if, because they have (in these
circumstances) accepted far more patients than they can manage safely?
(LMC says that practices have an obligation not to accept more patients
than they can manage: anyone got a reference for this? If true, why can
PCTs allocate patients?)
Mary
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Mary Hawking
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