Exclusive A fast-growing London GP practice has admitted to mistakenly registering patients without their consent, after GPs at other local practices raised concerns about losing ‘significant’ numbers of patients.
GP practices based in North West London told Pulse about recently losing patients to the GP Pathfinder Clinics, who promises patients ‘a GP online at your fingertips’. One GP told Pulse ‘hundreds of patients’ had been lost to practices, while another said up to 20 patients per day were being deregistered.
When calling departing patients, the GPs told Pulse they found them ‘upset and annoyed’ and claiming to have been registered to GP Pathfinders Clinics without their consent.
In response, the GP Pathfinder Clinics admitted that it has ‘re-registered’ some patients in error but blamed a third-party contractor and said it ‘would never’ have done so deliberately. It did not state how many patients were affected.
A spokesperson for the practice, which is led by Brent LMC chair Dr Jahan Mahmoodi, a clinical director for the West Brent K&W PCN and a former national lead for NHS Digital, also told Pulse that it is meeting with North West London ICB and NHS England to discuss the issue this afternoon.
NHS data, analysed by Pulse, shows GP Pathfinder Clinics has recently grown rapidly to now serve over 100,000 patients across five sites in Wembley, Queen’s Park, Alperton and Willesden. Notably it has grown its list by 13,000 patients in the past month and by 51,000 since April last year.
There is no accusation that all of these patients were registered without their consent, although local GPs suggested to Pulse some patients may have registered in error thinking it was a separate online option and they would still be registered at their regular practice.
Although the GP Pathfinders website sees the practice badge itself as a ‘GP online at your fingertips’ and encourages patients to sign up online, its registration page does clearly state it is ‘an NHS GP practice’ and registering does mean it ‘will transfer you to Hazeldene Medical Centre’.
A North West London GP, who asked to remain anonymous, told Pulse: ‘The website makes it very easy to register patients and they have a catchment area that is extremely large. The website address and name GP Pathfinder is vague and makes it seem like a national service.
‘What we think is that patients are registering with this service thinking it’s a separate online GP option not knowing they are being deregistered from their own GP practice.
‘In terms of numbers some practices say they are having between five to 20 a day depart so it means these practices have to call all the patients and check if they actually meant to be de-registered.
‘There are now numerous GPs across NWL raising concerns that their practices are seeing significant number of patients being deduced who are upset and annoyed that they have been removed.
‘This has caused some patient safety issues as patients were undergoing urgent care or referrals at their original practice and have suddenly become de registered.’
An anonymous local GP also suggested to Pulse that patient data had been accessed by GP Pathfinders Clinics using AI, however this claim has not been substantiated and was strongly denied by the practice itself.
The practice is rated an overall 4.5 out of 5 stars on Google but a recent number of low ratings claim to be from patients who have been registered to the practice without their consent.
One review said: ‘They have registered my dad at this practice without his consent or knowledge. My dad only found out because his doctors rang him to say he will no longer be able to have his appointment for his ECG next week at his usual surgery.’
Another patient said: ‘I too was registered at Pathfinders without my knowledge or consent. This caused me to run out of the medication I was taking in addition to hours of wasted time trying to sort out what happened.’
Another review said: ‘I found out that this practice re-registered me without my knowledge. So I had to have several emails with this clinic to make sure that I was deducted from them.’
According to GP Pathfinder Clinics, the issue with patients registered without their consent was caused by a third-party contractor. It said this meant the practice ‘erroneously re-registered some patients who had intentionally moved to an alternative practice’.
Interim accountable officer Deborah McBeal told Pulse: ‘We became aware that a number of our active registered patients have been deducted from our list. Our clinical leadership team were concerned about patient safety and continuity of care of those who had been removed without registering with another GP practice. In response we commissioned a third-party contractor to help us understand and overcome this issue.
‘Unfortunately, instead of re-registering these deducted patients we erroneously re-registered some patients who had intentionally moved to an alternative practice. There was no mining of data or AI.
‘We can categorically state that we would never have intentionally allowed this to happen.’
She added that the practice was ‘very concerned and aware of the serious consequences’ for patients.
She said: ‘We immediately ceased all new registrations and investigated the cause and how it occurred. As part of this we are seeking to immediately rectify the situation and have commissioned an independent organisation to investigate.
‘We are working with NHS England and Londonwide LMCs, to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent recurrence and that patients are properly re-registered.
‘We are contacting every GP practice involved to alert them to the incident and offer assistance in re-registering the affected patients. We are also communicating with all patients who were affected alerting them to the situation and to ensure they are re-registered with their chosen GP practice.
‘We are working to remedy the situation and return patients to their chosen GP practices as quickly and smoothly as possible to ensure patient safety and continuity of care.’
Separately of any IT issue, GPs also raised concerns with Pulse that large numbers of patients moving in a short amount of time could destabilise nearby surgeries.
DAUK GP spokesperson Dr Steve Taylor told Pulse that it is ‘essential’ for the stability of GP practices and patient care that changes in patient populations ‘are done slowly with patients central in decision making’.
He said: ‘This includes practices taking on more patients. A choice of GP practices for patients is generally good for patient care. But potentially with larger practices and mergers choice will eventually be more limited, and potentially less competitive.’
A Londonwide LMC spokesperson said: ‘Londonwide LMCs is aware of concerns from local practices regarding unusual numbers of patients being de-registered from their lists and we understand and share their concerns.
‘We are in contact with the NWL ICB and are aware that they are currently investigating the issue, and it is therefore important that the investigation is allowed to proceed unhindered.’
A spokesperson for North West London ICB said: ‘We are aware of the situation and understand the impact on other GP practices and patients. We take it very seriously and are urgently working with NHS England and the practice to establish the facts as to what has happened and seek a solution.’
A spokesperson for NHS England London said: ‘We have been made aware of this issue by North West London ICB and are supporting them to establish the circumstances behind the registrations.’
‘Interim accountable officer Deborah McBeal told Pulse: ‘We became aware that a number of our active registered patients have been deducted from our list. Our clinical leadership team were concerned about patient safety and continuity of care of those who had been removed without registering with another GP practice. In response we commissioned a third-party contractor to help us understand and overcome this issue. Unfortunately, instead of re-registering these deducted patients we erroneously re-registered some patients who had intentionally moved to an alternative practice. There was no mining of data or AI.’
This explanation makes no sense when you look at the numbers: 50K in a year and 12K in a month.
The financial numbers involved are *huge*. So are the potential implications for how securely digital patient registration operates. It is very odd that such huge flows of patients weren’t identified more quickly, or thought to be unusual and worthy of investigation by the commissioner.
I hope that NHSE will be returning patients to their original practices ASAP – and compensating the practices for the lost income.
Why did the rapidly expanding GP practice seek a magician’s licence? Because they were excellent at making patients vanish—without consent! The reality is that the situation surrounding GP Pathfinder Clinics raises serious ethical concerns regarding patient consent and its wider implications for local healthcare practices. Reports of patients being registered without their consent undermine the fundamental principle of informed consent, which is vital for patient autonomy. This breach of trust not only causes distress among those affected but also highlights systemic issues within the practice’s operational oversight.
Moreover, the actions of GP Pathfinder Clinics have a detrimental impact on other local GP practices. The loss of patients and the resulting decrease in income jeopardise these practices’ sustainability and their ability to provide quality care. This situation underscores the interconnectedness of healthcare systems; when one practice grows swiftly, it can destabilise others, potentially leading to gaps in patient care.
Furthermore, the reported patient safety concerns—such as deregistered patients requiring urgent care—emphasise the need for accountability. While GP Pathfinder Clinics attribute the issue to a third-party contractor, this raises questions about their oversight and data management practices. The key takeaway is the importance of robust systems for patient registration and communication.
Er, the explanation given by the growing practice is not actually consistent with what the patient experience quotes are saying happened to them. Can we have corrected version of whichever one is wrong please?
What does Centregroundx2 say about PCN CDs? With friends like these, who needs enemies?
LMC needs to look at this ? election time.
The situation involving GP Pathfinder Clinics raises concerns about patient consent, communication, and the risks posed to continuity of care. While the practice blames a third-party contractor for the erroneous registrations, the incident highlights broader issues in patient safety and transparency, especially when patients are deregistered from their usual GPs unknowingly. Additionally, the rapid growth of such clinics could destabilise nearby practices, emphasising the need for careful management of patient transfers to protect both patient care and the stability of local services.