A WOMAN says she is "disgusted" with her GP after he struck her frail mother off his patient list without explaining why.

Irene Warren, aged 51, of Canning Street, Cwm, who was also struck off, has no idea why they can no longer receive treatment at their local surgery.

Although she is upset about being struck off herself, it is the decision to take her mother, 81-year-old Nancy Jukes, off the GP list that angered her most.

And their MP, Llew Smith, said: "I'm getting increasingly concerned at the attitude of some doctors who are not only striking people off the register, but many others who are refusing to come out to see patients who are very ill and I don't believe that this is in the spirit of the NHS."

Mrs Jukes takes more than ten types of medication every day to combat heart trouble, high blood pressure and arthritis, among other complaints.

She also suffers from senile dementia and, as a result, gets confused easily and has trouble communicating.

Mrs Warren's husband, John, 46, believes the decision may be because his wife complained to the GP, Dr Avinash Mohindru, about her mother's treatment during a recent hospital stay at Blaina Hospital.

Mr Warren said: "If he wanted to strike my wife off, fair enough, but Nancy didn't say anything to him to upset him.

"My mother-in-law has been visiting the local surgery for most of her life, so why they struck her off the treatment list now is beyond me."

Since they were notified of the decision an alternative doctor has been found for Mrs Jukes at a practice in Waun Lwyd through the intervention of Blaenau Gwent MP Llew Smith, who has promised to look into the matter.

However, the travelling involved has given Mr Warren cause for concern. He said: "I'm the only one in the house who can drive and I might not be here all the time to run her to the surgery in Waun Lwyd."

Cwm councillor Des Davies said he was disgusted, and has referred the matter to Blaenau Gwent Assembly Minister Peter Law, as well as Llew Smith.

He said: "I realise that GPs have no legal obligation to disclose their reasons for striking someone off a patient list, but it doesn't mean that it is OK.

"Not only should GPs give reasons, but they should also sort out alternative doctors for them straightaway.

"Everybody in the town is now worried that because it has happened to one family, then it could happen to others."

No-one at the surgery - based at Cwm Health Centre - was prepared to comment on the issue, but a spokesman for the Gwent Health Authority said: "Doctors don't have to provide a reason to the patient for seeking to strike someone off their GP practice.

"However, patients who are taken off the list can seek further advice from the health authority to assist in finding a GP.

"Obviously, if the patient continues to have difficulty in finding a practice, the health authority can allocate them a GP."

A spokesman for the British Medical Association said: "If a patient and a GP fall out for whatever reason, the GP can inform the Health Authority that the patient is now off his list. "The BMA advise the doctor to have a face-to-face talk with the patient to tell them the reason why the decision has been made, but the GP does not have to do this."

*PICTURED: Irene Warren and her 81-year-old mother Nancy Jukes.