110,000 Birmingham 'ghost patients' costing taxpayers ?7 million a year

[Northerner]

One hundred thousand ?ghost patients? are costing Birmingham taxpayers almost ?7 million a year in wasted NHS funds according to figures.

The shocking statistics mean that hundreds of GP surgeries in the region could be boosting their income by keeping people who have died or moved away on their treatment list.

A review by the Audit Commission shows that more than two million ?ghost patients? are on GPs? books in the UK, with Birmingham topping the numbers with an estimated 108,000.

As GPs were paid ?64.59 for every patient on their treatment list in 2010 and 2011.

And a whopping ?6,975,720 a year is estimated as being dished out by the government for Birmingham patients that don?t exist.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/110000-birmingham-ghost-patients-costing-6146002

 

[trophywench]

I should imagine it's just regarded as yet more paperwork by GPs, isn't it? So not an urgent priority - rather than a deliberate attempt by them to defraud the NHS.

I mean I have no idea how many GP surgeries there are - or rather how many actual GPs in practicing generally - IYSWIM - and if you divided that number into the total number of ghost patients, it's probably less than 1 per GP.