Homeless and migrant patients wrongly kicked off GP lists in NHS drive to slash spending

Homeless and migrant patients are being wrongly kicked off GP lists in an attempt to slash NHS spending, The Independent can reveal.

Hundreds of thousands of patients have been removed from practices in England under a new scheme to “clean up” GP lists and identify patients who have left the country.

But concerned doctors say they have been “distressed” to learn that many of their most vulnerable patients have been incorrectly flagged for removal, with one fearing patients with “non-English” names are overwhelmingly being targeted.

Patients affected include those who are homeless, mentally unwell, in unstable housing, have learning disabilities, the elderly, or do not speak English, with no clear reason for why they are being chosen.

GPs in London accounted for more than 40% of the 400,000 patients in England removed from lists between January and June. Practice leaders have warned that those patients could miss out on crucial cancer screening appointments and test results, have their hospital referrals cancelled or have their treatment delayed.

Dr Lisa Harrod-Rothwell, CEO of the Londonwide Local Medical Committees, which represents London GPs, said the new system assumes patients can receive and respond to NHS correspondence via email, letter or text, but those who are homeless, have learning disabilities, or are elderly or suffer from mental health challenges would not easily be able to object to their removal.

“A lot of our people already have really difficult lives because of poverty or illness, mental illness, people, the people who struggle the most with this type of [scheme] are the people who need the NHS the most.

“Our concern is that this process is going to unintentionally widen our health inequalities,” Dr Harrod-Rothwell said.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 17 July 2026

Further reading on the hub:

• Robbie: A homeless patient’s struggles with the system