MP has campaigned against ‘list cleansing’ operation

More than 25,000 people have been removed from GP lists in Brent.

NHS Brent carried out the cull over the summer because it said it cannot afford to pay doctors to look after patients who have moved out of the area, changed GP or died.

However, 1,422 patients have re-registered since realising they had been wiped off their doctors’ books.

Sarah Teather, Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central, campaigned against the operation calling it ‘list cleansing’.

She said: “While it is very important to make sure GPs lists are as accurate as possible, especially in areas of high population turnover such as Brent, I had very real concerns about the way in which NHS Brent went about their list cleansing exercise.

“I had serious concerns about the failure of NHS Brent to put protections in place for vulnerable members of our community such as children on the ‘at risk’ register, the very elderly, the homeless or those with mental health issues.

But Jo Ohlson, director for NHS Brent, said reducing money spent on patients no longer living in the borough would lead to a better service. She added: “We are very keen that any genuine patients do re-register.”