Patient Access - Is this a Joke?

[#1]

...I think it may be.

I used to use Patient Access to access my medical records etc. When it became 'computationally infeasible' to log in via the Patient Access UI using PA credentials I complained about this to PA support. It later became possible to log in to Patient Access using NHS login credentials instead. Thankfully I then abandoned any use of the PA log in route to reach the PA UI.

However, for a purely one-off technical reason, I just tried to use the PA log in credentials route, for the first time in ages. This, as expected, did not go well.

Attempt One

My first attempt failed completely for the usual reason: I gave up the attempt at completing a seemingly semi-infinite number of increasingly dark, increasingly blurry and increasingly grainy CAPTCHAS based entirely on US grade street furniture.

Attempt Two

My second attempt went better when, by some miracle, I was somehow able to get past the CAPTCHA blockade. It then said it sent a PIN to my phone. Unfortunately this phone number is no longer in use. So...

So I decided to contact PA Support. That's easy, you just have to fill in an online form, then click on 'I am not a robot' and...

You are then presented with a seemingly semi-infinite number of increasingly dark, increasingly blurry and increasingly grainy CAPTCHAS based entirely on US grade street furniture.

So I gave up.

Is there any known way of deleting a Patient Access account?

[#2]

I used to have a similar service (SystemOnline) via my GP practice, but it was so clunky and hard to use I switched to the NHS app on my phone/tablet, but it is also available on a desktop/laptop via NHS Choices.

[#3]

What is in your environment that triggers repeated CAPTCHASby making your a/c look unusual :

Examples are :

1) a Generic VPN  ( i.e.not a VPN to a place of work )
2) a DNS changer app  ( e.g. WARP on Android )
3) Apple Relay ( is another form of VPN )
4) advert blocking browser add-ons / plugins / a Pi-hole
5) Norton Antivirus or similar that has a web proxy for the browser
6) Private Browsing / Incognito browsing
7) Opera browser with ad-blocking enabled or VPN enabled
8: Double NAT i.e.multiple DHCP servers  ( e.g. 2 routers or a WI-Fi repeater with DHCP )
9) A Public IP that differs from that of the real IP of the internet connection
10) an apparent location for the Public IP that is a different country
11) a public IP that is registered to a different ISP

[#4]

@PhilipHeyes 

"What is in your environment that triggers repeated CAPTCHASby making your a/c look unusual :"

The only ones in the list that match are:

"4) advert blocking browser
6) Private Browsing / Incognito browsing"

Although what is in anyway "unusual" about either of those, I have no idea.

But thanks for the suggestion - I will give it a try. Wish me luck! 🤤

[#5]

TEST 1 - Non 'inPrivate Window' (Edge browser)

Try logging in to PA with PA credentials:

Golly! It seems to work. But obviously can't actually log in:

"Please enter the verification code"
"Verification code was sent. Please check your mobile text messages."

🙂

TEST 2 - Non 'inPrivate Window' (Edge browser)

So lets now try that with their Support Centre online form:

Oh Jeez!

Infinite CAPTCHAS routine again. Again, as they go on, they become blurrier and grainier...

PLUS CAPTCHA riddles? - When is a "bicycle" not a bicycle? When it's a tricycle?
But then perhaps it is (a "bicycle")? - after all, don't the yanks call gorillas and chimps "monkeys"?

Then again, is a cyclist's head a "head" or a "bicycle"? - We are now in Alice in Wonderland territory.

What's this 'thing' with bicycles? Cyclists? Two (or three?) wheeled transport?

If an infinite number of "monkeys" rode an "infinite" number of "bicycles" (or tricycles?) where would we all be then?

Time to give up again...

[#6]

Sending a 2FA code by SMS is very standard, why did that not complete ?

Or was the first login attempt aborted, not providing the expected 2FA always looks suspect,
and quickly proceeding to a second login attempt looks even worse.

[#7]

How strange! I use Patient Access regularly for all the usual reasons without any problem. However I do use an authenticator.

The only time I’ve seen Captchas is occasionally when ordering repeat prescriptions for myself and SWMBO one immediately after the other, never seems to happen if I wait a few minutes between logins.

I use Chrome with add-ons Adblock and Privacy Badger along with the built in Windows security.

That said I have, more so recently, encountered the ‘Captcha blockade’ on other sites to the point of giving up!

[#8]

No, I was wrong. This isn't "a Joke" - it's a FARCE.

Suddenly had an inspiration, I've now got a smartphone (I sometimes forget these things...) I can try via another browser, Opera, on my phone.

Let's try their online 'Support' form - seems to be working well, even manages to put the '@' character on the first page of my phone's keyboard when entering email address (Greenby!). Just have to enter my date of birth. Uh, oh... It always puts up a 'convenient' calendar when I try to enter my DOB.

Today is 17 July, 2026. OK, I can handily change the date.... a month at a time.

But... I'm 78! I'll be dead by the time I reach my DOB. 

😶

OK. Just went with today's date as my DOB.

FINALLY - "We will get back to you..." 🙄

How on Earth can older or 'non technical' people be expected to get on with all this absolute nonsense? It almost stymied me.

[#9]

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@PhilipHeyes wrote:

Sending a 2FA code by SMS is very standard, why did that not complete ?

---

Because the phone number the text is being sent to is out of use. Which is why I am trying to contact their support.

[#10]

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@Batfrog wrote:

How strange! I use Patient Access regularly for all the usual reasons without any problem. However I do use an authenticator.

---

I use Patient Access regularly as well! However, I always log on with 2FA using my NHS credentials via the NHS Login route to PA. Can you guess why? 🤣

However... Recently on PA  I cannot see any of my Medical Records or Test Results via the PA UI - they are ghosted out and seemingly constantly 'refreshing' but never appear. I can do and see other things. Everything still appears normal on my NHS account.

I don't know if this is now a 'feature' or a bug. I am trying to find out - so I thought I would risk trying to log on to PA using PA credentials to check if it was the same. There have been quite a few changes to the NHS account recently and I thought this might be related.

Then again - perhaps it is something to do with my cancelled old mobile phone number? I saw from the NHS account that several texts have been sent from my GP to the dead mobile number - which I obviously never received. I updated my mobile number on the NHS account quite some time ago and had naïvely assumed it would then automatically migrate upwards from there to my GP and hence to Patient Access. It didn't.

Hence all my tedious banging away with Patient Access.

[#11]

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@PhilipHeyes wrote:

What is in your environment that triggers repeated CAPTCHASby making your a/c look unusual :

Examples are :
4) advert blocking browser add-ons / plugins / a Pi-hole 

---

That could be the answer to me having this problem, Next time I'll try without the pi-hole in circuit.

[#12]

@pvmb  

Then again - perhaps it is something to do with my cancelled old mobile phone number? I saw from the NHS account that several texts have been sent from my GP to the dead mobile number - which I obviously never received.

If your GP can’t communicate with you, particularly senior citizens, probably because of moving house or whatever, and after a period of time [?] they pass your details onto the local health authority as no contact.

A friend of mine phoned his GP after moving house without telling said GP.  When he was ill and phoned for an appointment they told him he was not registered with them and gave him a number to ring. When he rang he was told that his file had been marked PD – presumed dead! So beware………..

[#13]

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@pvmb wrote:

Today is 17 July, 2026.

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Err... Today is 12 July, 2026. 😊

[#14 · Accepted solution]

@pvmb I may have misunderstood this but If you can log into Patient Access using NHS credentials/login can you then access the settings to update the mobile phone on record and change the 2FA method to one more useful to you?

With the captcha and greyed out details could you set the Patient Access website as a trusted one and allow it to use cookies and popups etc? Would that help to access the details? The only other things I can suggest is clearing cache (except logins) and/or a different web browser.

Is there an audio captcha available? That might work instead.

[#15]

@cpc6128 

"I may have misunderstood this but If you can log into Patient Access using NHS credentials/login can you then access the settings to update the mobile phone on record and change the 2FA method to one more useful to you?"

Genius! I never thought of that - forgot that you can access your account details directly from PA account (unlike NHS account - or as used to be the case with NHS account?).

Just tried it. Of course.... There were lots of CAPTCHAS (more bicycles), before I got to the phone PIN! There had to be, no?

But all set now. Thank you.

Still cannot see any medical records on Patient Access - something for another day?