AN ARMY veteran claims he has been wrongly banned from his GP surgery and made to feel like a violent criminal.

Philip Singleton, 67, who served in the Royal Fusiliers in the 1960s and ‘70s, was told he could no longer be treated at York Road Group Practice in Ellesmere Port in December 2017.

He says the surgery barred him after he threatened to make a complaint about one of the locum doctors who allegedly refused to treat him for a painful foot.

“They said I was a violent patient, but I was just speaking my mind,” said the grandfather-of-three. “I’m not an aggressive person. I served in the Army for 12 years. I’ve seen enough violence.”

NHS West Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which represents GP practices, said this week that it stands by the actions taken by the York Road practice.

But Mr Singleton is demanding an apology after he appealed to NHS England, which accepted he had been wrongly placed on the Special Allocation Scheme for violent patients.

He told the Standard: “I’ve been made to feel like a criminal and I did nothing wrong.

“I would like an apology from the people involved and measures taken so this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.

“Patients should be allowed to voice their opinions.”

Describing what happened, he said he had attended the surgery as his foot had been causing him pain.

The locum doctor arrived 45 minutes late and interrupted him as he described his symptoms saying she “did not have time to listen” and he should make a new appointment.

“I was shocked and said I wanted to complain but she said ‘you’re threatening me’ and walked out,” said Mr Singleton, of Bishops Gardens, Ellesmere Port.

“The next thing the security guard turns up and a few minutes later the police but I was then told I hadn’t committed any offence.

“I wasn’t happy at all. It was embarrassing and I was shown up. I thought ‘I’ve done nothing wrong here. What’s going on?’.”

In the coming days he was contacted to say that if he wants to make GP appointments, then he must sign a form accepting the presence of security at his consultations for the next 12 months.

All appointments would also have to be at Westminster Surgery in the town.

Mr Singleton, a keen angler who arranges charity fishing matches and worked as an environmental ecologist after leaving the Army, begrudgingly agreed to sign.

“They said I had to have security guards or I wouldn’t receive treatment, which is basically blackmail,” said the father-of-two, whose foot later became infected due to a small shard of glass lodged in the skin.

He contacted Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders and lodged a formal complaint with NHS England, which investigated his case and wrote to him with its findings in March last year.

The letter, seen by this newspaper, states: “Based on the evidence presented, the panel found in this instance that you were not appropriately placed on the Special Allocation Scheme.

“However, we would like to suggest that you do not return to York Road Medical Practice due to the breakdown of relationship and advise that you continue to receive healthcare at an alternative medical practice.”

NHS West Cheshire CCG was asked to comment on Mr Singleton’s case.

In response, a spokesman said: “Every step is taken to support patients to remain at their preferred GP practice.

“On the extremely rare occasions that patients are required to be dismissed and allocated an alternative practice, robust processes are in place for GP Practices to adhere to.

“We are confident that all of our member practices – including York Road Group Practice – apply these processes correctly and proportionately at all times.

“The NHS operates a zero-tolerance policy to any form of abuse or violence to any of its staff.”