Next of Kin & Identity Documents

This page covers the emergency contact and next-of-kin details captured at registration, and how identity documents with an expiry date — such as a Labour ID — are tracked.

At a glance

fa-user | Register the patient | Capture who the patient is.
fa-phone | Emergency contact | Who to call if something goes wrong.
fa-users | Next of kin | The relative responsible for the patient.
fa-id-card | Identity document | Record the ID the patient presents.
fa-calendar | Expiry date | Note when that ID stops being valid.
fa-exclamation-triangle | Expiry warning | Staff are warned when it has lapsed.

Emergency contact and next of kin

The registration form captures, as an optional block:

• Emergency contact — a name and a contact number for whoever should be reached in an emergency.
• Next of kin — the relative or guardian formally responsible for the patient, and their relationship to them.

Leaving the block empty stores nothing, so it does not get in the way of a fast registration.

tip

For an unaccompanied or elderly patient, fill in both. The emergency contact is who you phone; the next of kin is who can consent and be billed.

Identity documents and expiry

The document type recorded against a patient determines whether an expiry date is asked for.

When the document type is Labour ID, an expiry date field appears and should be filled in from the card itself.

How an expired card is treated

State	Behaviour
No expiry date recorded	The document is accepted, but nothing can be checked.
Expiry date in the future	Normal — no warning.
Expiry date passed	The card is flagged as expired and staff are warned.

The check is applied both at registration and when the patient is next handled, so a card that lapses between visits is caught on the return visit rather than going unnoticed.

caution

An expired Labour ID usually affects the patient's entitlement to a scheme rate. Check the expiry before billing under a scheme, not after.