The NHS Constitution

I've just got a reply to my online request to change to a new local surgery ... and I've been asked to give a reason why I want to change.

The NHS Constitution says this:

"I want to change my GP practice. Do I have to give a reason? No, you don't have to tell your practice why you want to change or your new one why you made that decision."

I applied to change to the same surgery some years back ... and was also then told to give a reason. I emailed the practice manager and she agreed I didn't have to give a reason ... and said she'd instructed the staff to accept me. (I didn't then go there ... I went elsewhere).

There are numerous instances when patients' 'Constitutional Rights' are being "brushed aside" by surgeries and hospitals. Patients have the right to insist that EVERYTHING that they believe to be symptoms of ill health that they tell the doctor be recorded in their medical records. Doctors CAN'T "cherry pick" to make the symptoms fit their diagnostic beliefs and omit symptoms that another doctor may act upon as relevant. It is often the case that patients don't know that their reported symptoms have not been recorded.