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Selected Investigations Completed April - September 1999 > Part I, Case no. E.1125/98-99

Chapter 1: Hospital, Community Health and Ambulance Trusts

Case No. E.1125/98-99 - A GP's explanations of refusal to give vaccine and removal of a patient from his NHS list

Complaint against: A GP in the Herefordshire Health Authority area

Summary of case

Dr X complained that, on 5 November 1997, his wife, Mrs X, telephoned her GP to ask him to administer an influenza vaccine to her at home. The GP refused, and failed to provide her with an adequate explanation about that. Dr X attended the GP's surgery the following day and was told that he and his wife were removed from the GP's list of NHS patients. The removal caused particular anxiety to Mrs X because there were no other GP practices in the area, and GPs from outside the area were compelled to care for her through the Health Authority's three-monthly GP rota system.

Findings

After taking advice from two clinical assessors, the Ombudsman did not uphold either of Dr X's complaints. He found that the GP's decision not to administer the vaccine to Mrs X was based on Mrs X's medical history of ill health and a recent bout of illness. Mrs X responded to the GP's refusal by making an abusive remark to him before abruptly terminating the telephone call. The Ombudsman concluded that it was reasonable that the GP did not attempt to provide further explanation to Mrs X, and that it was unreasonable of Dr X to expect the GP to attribute Mrs X's behaviour to an adverse effect of her medication. Also, the GP's decision to ask Dr and Mrs X to find another GP was based on the failure of Dr and Mrs X and the GP to agree on Mrs X's primary care, his belief that they wished to change practices, and, ultimately, the breakdown of a doctor/patient relationship which had never been easy. The Ombudsman concluded that there was little else that the GP could have done, despite Mrs X's anxiety at the subsequent implementation of the Health Authority's three-monthly rota system. He found that the GP had made a reasonable, considered decision, with one proviso; he did not communicate that he would continue to care for Dr and Mrs X until they found another GP practice.

Remedy

The GP conveyed through the Ombudsman's report, his apologies for the shortcoming identified.

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Last updated: 9 January 2006