In these circumstances, cross-checking with other agencies to prove a patient was a permanent resident entitled to NHS care was unnecessary and, in many cases, unthinkable.
When the NHS was established in 1948, GPs were family doctors in the sense that most would care for several generations of a family.
In these circumstances, cross-checking with other agencies to prove a patient was a permanent resident entitled to NHS care was unnecessary and, in many cases, unthinkable.