A Jersey resident says he has been left “shocked” and “in disbelief” after his GP surgery decided to remove him as a patient.
Joshua Collis, who is legally blind, relies on repeat prescriptions to manage chronic pain and to help him sleep.
He took to social media to complain about First Medical following what he claims are persistent issues with their service.
In the post on a local Facebook group, Joshua wrote: “Every single time I’ve gone to renew my prescription for nearly a year now, they have made it so painful and difficult to collect my medication.
“It’s a new issue every time. I order my repeat in the app and specify the pharmacy for collection every time… and every single time they have failed to send my prescription through with various excuses.”
He also asked for recommendations if he was to transfer GP practices and within hours, Joshua says that decision was taken out of his hands as he was dropped by First Medical.
He explains: “I just literally that morning got a notification that ‘your account is closed’.
“I checked in the app and couldn’t access my prescriptions anymore, couldn’t see my history or anything like that.”
Joshua criticised the practice in a local Facebook group. Credit: Facebook/Good or Bad Jersey Businesses
Joshua was given a month’s supply of medication and sent a letter by the Directors at First Medical, stating that he had been removed from their practice’s patient list “with immediate effect”.
It says: “We were disappointed to learn of your dissatisfaction with the prescription service you received yesterday, and to see your concerns expressed on local social media.
“We recognise that there are occasions when our processes require review or improvement and we genuinely welcome constructive feedback.
“However, the public nature and one-sided criticism of the practice on local social media has resulted in a breakdown of the relationship between yourself and First Medical, and we have made the decision to remove you from our practice list with immediate effect.”
The letter continues that Joshua’s medical records will be transferred to his new GP once he is registered with them and adds: “We wish you well for the future”.
However, Joshua believes the action taken is “extremely disproportionate and retaliatory”.
ITV Channel contacted First Medical who said they could not comment due to “patient confidentiality reasons … while we are continuing to attempt to resolve the matter”.
In Jersey, GP surgeries are private businesses that sit outside of the public health system. However, as they receive some funding from the Government, they must comply with certain rules.
They are overseen by the Primary Care Governance Team, which said that a GP practice can only decide to “end its professional relationship with a patient … lawfully, fairly, and without discrimination”.
There are specific criteria in place that surgeries can use to justify this, including if the patient demonstrates “violent, abusive, or aggressive behaviour”, or “situations where the professional relationship has irretrievably broken down”.
The Primary Care Governance Team told ITV Channel that they “are unable to comment on allegations concerning individual providers”.
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