Forum Topic

Under cover of Covid "Biggest Data grab in NHS history" - upload of all GP records to NHS Digit

UNLESS you opt out by deadline 23rd June using this link: https://www.civicmc.nhs.uk/files/2021/05/Opt-out-Form.pdf  all GP medical records in England (?& Wales) will be uploaded on 1st July to NHS Digital's database.https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/13/nhs_data_grab/:" 'Biggest data grab' in NHS history stuffs GP records into a central store for 'research' – and the time to opt out is now.The 55 million citizens of England will need to opt out of the involuntary scheme before it is introduced to prevent the entire history of their GP visits being slurped, campaigners told us. Opt-out forms are here [.docx]. We understand you will need to give this form to your GP practice before 23 June or your data held by your GP joins the central repository."

Una-Jane Winfield ● 1668d6 Comments

I do not understand what is going on as the deadline has now been rolled back. Why, is it a technical problem? I was reading surge testing is not suitable as we only have 80000 in the army and also we do not have the DIGITAL CAPACITY. I am losing my understanding of this. I hope someone here can explain in simple terms.

Nicholas Beard ● 1658d

It's not the initial idea that's the problem .  That's fine in itself from my own take on this.The problem is what happens to all this data/ To whom does it get sold on to? What third party organisations get to access it?Despite the Date protection act, which like the Freedom of Information act can be used and abused, there are much deeper ramifications.Data collated by Insurance companies is shared and whilst intended to weed out criminal or fraudulent  activity is actually used to control the market to their advantage.Data falling into the wrong hands or sold organisations that exist to manipulate or control markets, including pharmaceutical industries who have several international firms who do precisely this, may not be good for both the health service or society at large.The concerns raised are not  from a selfish point of view but for the full ethical use to be crystal clear in the simplest terms.

Raymond Havelock ● 1659d

Having seen the discussion about this on Politics Live this lunchtime - I have decided to opt-out. The question is why this has been done with little publicity and explanation, granted the government etc. know a lot about us already, but transparency is in short supply these days. I have a magnet on my fridge that sums it up 'I love my country, it's the government I'm afraid of'.

Vanessa Smith ● 1660d

To be honest I am not sure why some are getting so upset and angry about this?

Paul Fisher ● 1661d

I have just had this text from the Albany practice:Dear patient,If you wish to opt out of your records being shared for research and planning, please follow the link below or via NHS app www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/Regards,Albany practice

Linsley Meadows ● 1661d

The  almost secret data grab sounded innocuous to me at first. But then I found they have made opting out really difficult - you can opt out of them harvesting hospital data via a well hidden online form. But for GP data you have to print a form, fill it in and take it to your GP. And once they've grabbed your data on 23 June you can no longer opt out meaningfully - they'll stop collecting future data but refuse to delete what they already took. That's a bit Hotel California. And the NHS Digital pages seem pretty dishonest to me, especially as it seems their assurances of anonymity are worthless. So my wife and I have opted out of hospital and GP data being used in this way. I'm happy for truly anonymous data to be used for research but this secretive exercise seems typical of how this government is treating the NHS. Lots of clapping and sugared words for our wonderful health workers, followed up with a real terms pay cut. They probably need the money to funnel to their chums via dodgy contracts. Sometimes I ask myself "would Thatcher have done this?" and my usual answer is "no, she wouldn't be this dishonest." So, just as I normally have GPS turned off on my phone, to stop being tracked in detail, I've stopped this health data raid. But I bet a big majority will not manage to opt out in the short time left.

Eric Baker ● 1662d