Friday, 8 April, 2005, 19:16 UK .
BBC
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A doctor whose pay has been affected because a little boy has not had the MMR vaccination has struck the two-year-old off his patient list. Michelle Byrne, 28, of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, said they opted not to have Ben immunised because he can suffer from fits if he has a fever.
In a letter Dr Michael Duggan, of Manor House Surgery, said by opting out they had "adversely affected" his pay.
The local primary care trust said the doctor regretted his actions.
Dr Duggan is believed to be on holiday and a surgery spokeswoman said they had no comment.
However, a similar letter was sent to seven other families.
Dr Tony Kostick, of North Herts and Stevenage Primary Care Trust (PCT), said Dr Duggan, who is believed to be on holiday, regretted what he had written.
"I understand he has written a letter of apology to the families concerned.
"It is fair to say that the PCT would not support any GP who removed patients from their list purely on financial grounds," Dr Kostick added.
Miss Byrne said they had also taken account of adverse publicity about the triple vaccine when deciding about the MMR immunisation for Ben.
The paragraph in the original letter from Dr Duggan which particularly angered her read: "This has adversely affected my pay because we doctors are unable to exclude from our targets children whose parents dissent from vaccinations."
It continued: "In view of this, we have no other alternative but to remove such patients from our list."
Parents and siblings remain on the Manor House Surgery register.
Miss Byrne, condemning the doctor's actions, said: "The GPs are there for patients and this has nothing to do with Ben's health - it's all about financial gain."
On Friday the British Medical Association said it believed informed patients who chose not to have their children immunised should not be included in the calculations deciding how much GPs should be paid.
Miss Byrne said she was waiting for her letter of apology.
