Asylum seekers were wrongly turned away from a GP practice in Halton for not having ID and a permanent address.

A report published by advocacy group Healthwatch Halton gathered responses from residents and organisation across the borough about their experiences of health and social care.

The report outlined one case of a charity supporting asylum seekers in the borough, which claimed a local GP practice was refusing to register patients if they did not have ID and a permanent address and had turned some of them away.

Healthwatch Halton subsequently provided the charity with leaflets and GP access cards which outlined that everyone in England is entitled to register and receive treatment from a GP practice, without providing proof of address or ID.

It also contacted the GP Practice’s head office and explained the situation, with staff being given additional training as a result.

The report added: "The area manager agreed that the practice should register the new patients and that additional staff training would be arranged to ensure it wouldn’t happen again."

This year is Halton Healthwatch’s 10th year, with it continuing to gather the views and experiences of Halton residents and then sharing them with health chiefs. Its latest annual report setting out a picture of health and wellbing in Halton collated the views of 1,204 people. 

And among some of the other issues outlined in the report was that of a  GP practice in a neighbouring area removing more than 500 Halton residents from its patient lists, with Healthwatch Halton helping to find those patients alternative GP practices.

The report found that NHS dentistry remains a major cause of concern, with mots practices not taking on NHS patients, with some having more than 500 people on their waiting lists which could take up to five years to clear.