‘Ghost patient’ policy wrongly removing at-risk people from GP lists, doctors say
Summary
A new NHS policy to quickly remove inactive patients from GP (doctor) lists in England is causing some poor and vulnerable people to lose access to healthcare by mistake. The quicker three-month removal rule replaced the old six-month rule, leading to many patients being wrongly taken off lists, which disrupts their treatment and reduces funding for GP practices.Key Facts
- NHS England changed the rule in October 2025, shortening the time patients have to respond before being removed from GP lists from six months to three months.
- Between October 2025 and July 2026, GP lists in England shrank by 483,019 patients, with the poorest areas losing about 138,400 patients.
- Doctors say the faster removal process is mistakenly taking off many people who still need care, especially from deprived areas.
- Being removed from a GP list can cause patients to lose access to prescriptions and healthcare treatments.
- GP practices lose income when patients are removed wrongly, which affects their ability to cover costs.
- Some GP practices reported financial losses of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of pounds due to the policy.
- The British Medical Association calls for NHS England to pause the policy, saying it is too harsh and flawed.
- NHS England says it has checks to protect vulnerable patients and that the process helps keep patient records accurate and funds properly allocated.
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