Government officials controversially asked a doctor to tell a patient they were being deported, it has emerged today.
The anonymous GP was approached by a branch of the Home Office to deliver the notice to an adult with mental health problems.
Union leaders condemned the ‘unprecedented’ request, that occurred in Liverpool, and blasted it as ‘completely unacceptable’.
Despite the doctor’s refusal to comply, fears have been raised that this could open the door to a flurry of similar requests.
GPs have flocked to social media to blast the news that a fellow doctor was asked to serve a deportation notice to one of their patients.
Some dismissed the letter as ‘outrageous’ and ‘barbaric’, while others stressed ‘we are not border guards and immigration enforcement officers’.
The anonymous GP was approached by a branch of the Home Office to deliver the notice to an adult with mental health problems
The letter, leaked to GP Online, reads: ‘It is with great regret that [X’s] application for leave to remain has been refused.
‘From evidence submitted to the Home Office [X] is attending [the practice].
‘On the patient’s next visit to the surgery, could you serve the refuse decision. This is due to the patient’s ongoing mental health.’
Dr Rob Barnett, chairman of Liverpool’s Local Medical Committee, confirmed the letter was real.
He told GP Online: ‘It is incredible. I am concerned that a GP was in any way brought into this process.
‘It cannot do anything to help the doctor-patient relationship in any circumstances. This is nothing to do with health – it is to do with immigration.’
GPs have flocked to social media to blast the news that a fellow doctor was asked to serve a deportation notice to one of their patients
Dr Umesh Prabhu, a medical director in two trusts for 15 year, said the letter was ‘outrageous’
A consultant psychiatrist tweeted he is ‘categorically refusing’ to serve deportation notices
While others stressed ‘we are not border guards and immigration enforcement officers’
Other Twitter users described the newly leaked letter as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘barbaric’
The letter, which was sent alongside the deportation notice, was sent by UK Visas and Immigration last August.
Dr Richard Vautrey, chair of the British Medical Association’s GP Committee, said the request was ‘unprecedented’.
He told GP Online: ‘It is unacceptable to ask a GP to do that, and to use information from the patient record in this way.
‘We have made it absolutely clear on many occasions – GPs are not an extension of the border agency or immigration service.
‘We have never heard of anything like this before, and I hope it never happens again. It should be plainly obvious to anyone that this is completely inappropriate.’
A tweet posted by Dr John Hughes, from Prestwich, Greater Manchester, described it as ‘totally unacceptable ethically’.
His post amassed nearly 200 retweets and has seen scores of angry doctors speak of their grave concerns over the request.
It comes just weeks after the NHS was told to stop sharing patient data with the Home Office in order to trace immigrant offenders.
Dr Sarah Wollaston, who chairs the House of Commons health select committee, criticised the deal between NHS Digital and the Home Office.
And health experts have previously warned pregnant and ill migrants are ‘too scared to see a doctor’ amid fears they will be deported.
MailOnline has approached the Home Office for comment.