Travellers are being refused GP care due to them not having a fixed address or proof of ID, a charity has warned.
The Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) charity conducted a 'mystery shopper' experiment where prospective patients contacted 50 GP surgeries, telling them they were of Traveller origin.
Twenty-four of the clinics refused or were unable to register the patients, of which 17 claimed they required ID and/or 12 said they could not sign them up without a fixed address.
This is despite NHS guidance stating patients do not require ID, an address or immigration status.
Other vulnerable groups may include refugees, homeless people and those who have fled domestic violence, FFT warns.
Travellers are being refused GP care due to them not having a fixed address (stock)
Sarah Sweeney, FFT's health policy coordinator, told The Guardian: 'Our health system is one of the safest in the world – and it is not right that we are failing on such a simple measure.'
The female mystery shoppers phoned different GP surgeries between December last year and January, posing as someone who had recently moved to the area.
They claimed they had a 'woman's problem' that needed looking at but did not have a fixed address because they were from the Traveller community.
All but two of the 24 surgeries that refused to register the patients were rated 'good' or 'outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for their work with ‘people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable’.
The remaining two surgeries are yet to be inspected.
The results of the report - No room at the inn: How easy is it for nomadic Gypsies and Travellers to access primary care? - were worse in urban areas and regions with large nomadic communities.
Since the NHS was founded in 1948, one of its three principles has been to 'meet the needs of everyone', including those with no fixed address.
Guidelines state: 'When applying to become a patient there is no regulatory requirement to prove identity, address, immigration status or the provision of an NHS number in order to register.'
A GP surgery can only refuse to register someone if NHS England agrees to close the clinic off to new patients or
