Bellbrooke Surgery: Elderly patients in Leeds kicked out of GP practice after being registered for decades

For at least two pensioners, the news that they would no longer be able to access health services from their practice in Harehills came as a shock.

They were told in a letter from Bellbrooke Surgery that they would be removed from the list because they live outside the “outer boundary” of the practice.

But that came despite some having been registered for 50 years, prompting questions about why the surgery had decided to remove patients now. The NHS Integrated Care Board in Leeds has since apologised for the distress it has caused.

Among those who received the letter last week was 80-year-old Mike Cornfield.

He registered with the practice in the 1970s when he was running a shop in Harehills. It was more convenient for him to join as a patient at Bellbrooke Surgery than one closer to home in Alwoodley.

“The letter didn’t explain things very well,” said Mike. “I thought it was a bit curt. Why didn’t someone phone me up and explain the situation?”

After his son complained to the practice manager, it was explained that having a GP closer to home may be more effective for call-outs.

Mike said: “I understand the reasoning now, but if they had stated that at the start, I wouldn’t have had a problem. The method they used was rather impersonal after being a patient for so long.”

Adam Kay, Mike’s son, thought his father’s anxiety could have been avoided. He said: “It was gone about in the wrong way. It may be fine to send a letter to younger patients, but for people in their 80s, a generic letter is totally inappropriate.”

For 75-year-old Gloria Hanley, the letter arrived on the day the NHS celebrated its 75th anniversary. She had also been a patient for 50 years and was even attached to the surgery as a midwife before she retired.

Gloria, who lives in Moortown, has since told the Yorkshire Evening Post that she intends to make a complaint to the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, as she was left “saddened and annoyed” by the letter.

A spokesperson for the NHS Integrated Care Board in Leeds said: “We are sorry to hear about the experience and distress caused by the removal of patients from the surgery and are committed to ensuring all patients can access high quality local primary care services.

“There is a national process which GP practices must follow for the removal of patients from their lists. Whilst we can’t comment on individual cases, we are actively working with the practice to review the process they have followed.”