VULNERABLE people in Dorset are at risk of being excluded from the care they are entitled to because they're being asked for ID at their local doctor's surgery, it is warned.

It comes after a 'mystery shopper' exercise on GP practices by Healthwatch campaigners.

The aim was to explore whether new patients are facing barriers registering by having to provide photo ID.

Whilst identification can be requested and is preferred, it is not required and registration should not be refused on this basis.

Figures for Dorset show that in total, 88 practices wanted some sort of identification (either photo ID or proof of address) before a patient could register with them. Only seven surgeries said no identification was required. One was not accepting new patients and one declined to give information.

The exercise also asked a follow-up question on whether someone would be able to register without having the ID requested. There was no data available on Dorset surgeries in the answer to this question.

The exercise was conducted across five Healthwatch areas in the Wessex region – Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Southampton and Portsmouth.

The 88 practices requesting ID in Dorset made up a total of 286 across the region requesting ID.

Wessex Voices, a partnership between NHS England and the five Healthwatch groups, said it was concerned that by asking for identification some patients may incorrectly assume that it is compulsory to provide it, when it is not.

A spokesman said: "We are therefore recommending practices either adopt a policy of not asking for any identification at all, or that they ensure all staff are adequately trained to explain to newly registering patients that identification is preferred but not essential. We would also recommend updating their practice information."

Healthwatch Dorset Manager Martyn Webster added: "Patient satisfaction with GP services is high, but at the same time some people find difficulty actually getting those services in the first place. This has been highlighted by the 'mystery shopper' project.

"Although NHS England states 'you should not be refused registration or appointments because you don’t have a proof of address or personal identification', we discovered that, for example out of the 97 GP surgeries in Dorset only seven did not require ID or proof of address to register a patient. This has an impact on people generally, but also particularly on a number of potentially vulnerable people, including former armed forces members, students in temporary accommodation, older women and people who are homeless."

Wessex Voices has arranged for the Healthwatch groups to talk to the Wessex Local Medical Council about training for GP practices.

Group working with GP practices

DORSET NHS Clinical Commissioning Group said it had been been working with practices since the findings were released to ensure people are registered correctly.

It said plans were in place to ensure GP colleagues can implement the recommendations in the Healthwatch report.

In a letter to Healthwatch, Mike Wood of Dorset CCG says: "The report has been shared with all practices in Dorset, next steps and CCG actions have been submitted to the primary care commissioning committee and workshops have been arranged with all practices to understand the operational issues in implementing the recommendations made."

Mr Wood adds: "All practices will be reminded that they must register patients even when they don’t have ID or a home address. This is a contractual obligation."

He says practices can refuse to register new patients if it is full, it is not accepting people who don't live in its boundary, or it may not be appropriate for patients to register with a practice which is a long way from where they live.