Dear LPG,

I recently saw a report on television about the work that NHS Digital do and their latest project. 

From what I can understand, for the past eight years, certain details of GP patient information has been collated in order to help the establishment to predict which services will be needed in which parts of the country in the near future.  But the system is due to be updated at the beginning of next month.

I can remember reading quite a few years ago about a plan to make all medical data available so that, if you find yourself anywhere in the UK and needing to go to a hospital A&E department, the staff there would be able to call up personal details such as which medication you are using, and what you are allergic to, however far away from your local GP you might find yourself.  I thought that a good thing, but I also worried about just how personal that information would get.

The motives for both these schemes seem quite well intentioned and I don’t think that I am alone in saying that, while I have nothing to hide, I am not sure that I would want all my personal health details on yet another data base that could burst its secure ‘online riverbanks’; and equally worrying, I have seen online rumours about such data possibly being sold on to other agencies.

I found their website where it tells that no personal details will be included but I cannot help but remember instances where banks, and companies, not to mention the government have not managed to keep their data as safe as they would like to.  I don’t think that it bothers me too much, but I can see how some people might not want any more information in such a potentially insecure place. 

I must admit that I don’t keep up to date with the news and had I not been on the right channel at the right time I would still be ignorant of the fact that anyone can opt out at any time, but there is less than a month to do so if you want to do this at the start. 

Those who would rather talk about the opt-out option can telephone: - 0300 3035678, and I hope that LPG will share the online information I have found…

WR, Bellingham.

WR shares the information he has learned both about the project and about opting out…

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