East Yorkshire mother removed from list at GP surgery after 35 years as patients from new housing estates given priority

Jane Siddaway, 49, from Anlaby, said she received a letter from the practice saying she needed to find a new GP due to being out of her current surgery’s catchment area.

The NHS worker added she got the letter from Anlaby Surgery, in Haltemprice Leisure Centre, following her diagnosis of low thyroids, a vitamin B12 deficiency and her daughter’s ill health.

A spokesperson for the NHS’s East Riding of Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which oversees GP practices, said removals from lists could happen if they became full.

They added practices had discretion over whether to register or keep patients on and could only do so for those outside their areas if it was “appropriate and practical”.

Mrs Siddaway said the practice wrote in their letter to her that she had been removed due to rising demand from new housing developments in the area.

She added she had spoken with around 70 other people in similar situations when she reached out on the Nextdoor online forum, 10 of them local.

Mrs Siddaway’s diagnosis of low thyroids and a vitamin B12 deficiency means she experiences symptoms including tiredness, weak muscles, trouble walking and nausea.

The mother of two said: “The news came on a bad day because my daughter was poorly and I tried to get a doctor for her but I was told there wasn’t one available.

“Then I got the letter and it didn’t even have any suggested alternative practices.

“I’ve been with them since I was younger and my husband’s been registered with them for 18 years. My daughter’s fond of our GP and only wants to see them.

“It was a surprise that we weren’t expecting at all, I rang the GP to ask if we had the right to appeal and they said ‘no’.

“I’ve recently been diagnosed with a couple of things, I have low thyroids and a vitamin B12 deficiency.

“I felt rubbish for about a year before my diagnosis, I was struggling and felt really unwell. My children both have ongoing health issues as well.

“When I posted on Nextdoor asking if other people had been in the same situation it blew up, I had loads of replies saying ‘this has happened to me’.

“Ever since I’ve been filling in forms to try and register with a new practice and we’re in one now which is only about half a mile away from us.

“But I feel for the elderly who might be in this situation and don’t have the time or ability to register with a new surgery online.”

The CCG spokesperson said anyone told to find a new practice could look up surgeries online here. They added NHS England could also allocate them to one by emailing [email protected] or calling 0300 311 22 33.

The spokesperson said: “The boundary area for which Anlaby Surgery serves includes patients who live in Anlaby, Anlaby Common, Kirk Ella and Willerby.

“GP practices are also able to register patients who live outside of their boundary area, and this is down to the practice to decide if it is clinically appropriate and practical for them to do so.”

“We know that some practices, on occasion, look to remove patients who live outside of their boundary and ask them to register with a practice more locally to them.

“This is often the case when a practice has a full patient list and is not able to accept new patients who do live within their boundary.”