NHS England and NHS Digital websites DO NOT provide a way for you to stop your GP from sending them your private medical records - deliberately so!

In order to protect your personal medical records, the first step is to advise your GP

Deadline date to inform your GP not to share your private medical data with NHS England:

23rd June 2021

You CAN opt-out of NHS England sharing your sensitive data on-line, but as it states on their website, your name, address and NHS number are NOT counted as sensitive data!! There is also occasions when they can decide to share your data anyway. From the NHS website:

"The list of exclusions can change where a case has been made to the Department of Health and Social Care that the data collection is too significant to risk losing some patient data. For example, when the information may be required to inform key Government commitments and policies."

For example for the new Integrated Care Systems, that need patient data in order to "Reduce cost and clinical variation." as stated on the IQVIA website which are embedded in over 150 ICSs. In other words to streamline and reduce clinical treatment across the whole of England.  

In order to tell your GP not to send your private medical records to NHS England, you have to fill in and post or hand in the the official NHS England from that they DON't provide on their website! You can download this official NHS form by clicking on the form pic to the right.

You can include your children on this form and send it /take it to your GP in order to stop NHS Digital being given your medical data, as explained by Med.Confidential and other campaigning organisations concerned about the misuse of private medical data.

To tell NHS not to share your or your children's Non-GP held medical records, for example hospital or clinic treatments, being used/sold for purposes other than your direct care you need to fill in this NHS form

ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS PEOPLE HAVE IS ABOUT THEIR DATA BEING SOLD TO THIRD PARTIES.

Claims by NHS Digital that they don't share your data directly is true - but they DO allow others to do so and profit from them giving accees to your personal data to private healthcare companies, local authorities and data research companies.

See here for their price list for data access by local authorities, universities, data companies and others allowed to do so.

Further, the NHS do not state your data can be used for 'medical research' specifically, but use the catch all phrase; 'research and development'

As the NHS Digital website states:

" Data and technology that improves lives - We support NHS staff at work, help people get the best care, and use the nation's health data to drive research and transform services."

The term 'research and development' is not what the public thinks it is. NHS Digital sees it as developing systems that will allow private health companies to change public behaviour through digital on-line services rather than going to their GP and A&E. It also allows them to modify public health behaviours in people and ultimately blame the public for health problems they experience and to support ICSs and eventually introduce a health insurance service such as that of Medicare in the USA.

You personal medical data records is required by data companies and pharmaceutical companies in order to develop digitalise and public health management and behavioural digital applications and cut down on GP and Hospital visits. It is also needed by data companies such as those already embedded into the NHS, the American company IQVIA

As their website states, your medical records are essential to their business, without which they could not survive. Click the pic to go to their website and see how they are embedded into our NHS and part of Matt Hancock's and the Tory Governments turning the NHS into 42 separate and autonomous Integrated Care Systems.

Their slogans are clearly being used by the NHS Digital and NHS England. They need reading very carefully: IQVIA Website Statement

From IQVIA website:

Providing Actionable Insights

Our dedicated and experienced team provide end-to-end solutions to 150+ Trusts which:

• Drive efficiencies
• Reduce cost and clinical variation 
• Improve patient outcomes 

Our holistic approach integrates real-world evidence, analytics, accurate financial and patient activity reporting data, supported by strategic consulting. This approach speeds up decision-making and provides a common language for clinicians and managers to improve the healthcare outcomes of patients.

The media such as the Daily Mail and The Daily Express are also misleading the public along with the NHS England and NHS Digital are misleading the public by claiming patient data is not being sold - the reality is that it IS!

Word games are being employed by NHS digital who admit that charges are made to those wishing to access the data!

Charging for access to the data they collect may not be them openly selling your medical records, but they ARE sharing it with those who are willing to pay!

All your encounters with your GP, once copied to the central database, will be “disseminated” for payment to third parties, including companies outside the NHS.

In case you find that hard to believe, this year’s price list can be seen in the pic below to the left – Click to enlarge - for the data already held centrally, such as that of your hospital visits. Did you have any idea your medical data was worth so much... or so little?

More importantly, the reasons for misleading, and some say, lieing to the public; is to ensure that they get the data they want irrespective of individual objections.

By leading the public from the NHS website, away from the public right to object to their GP sharing their data as instructed by Matt Hancock, NHS Digital gets the data they want by default simply because GPs, unless otherwise told by individual patients, have no choice by to obey a directive from the Sec of state for health.

Smoke and mirrors is being used by the Tory backing media and Matt Hancock's private health data companies dominated NHS Digital to divert the public debate over the use of their medical records away from the true method and forms of stopping them and that is to inform your GP - that is the one step needed!

Further, existing data already collected will NEVER be destroyed and used despite any subsequent withdrawal of permission by patients!

The new NHS App relies on NHS Digital and App developers having access to your private medical data with the intention of reducing visits to both GPs and Hospital A&E. It in stead poses a possible danger to individual user's health and personal privacy. Like most apps it will want to access your private information held on your mobile phone or tablet, e,g, location, photos, call history and contacts. All this will be then stored by data analytical companies such as IQVIA, already handle data from NHS Patients attending hospitals.

Where your data is actually stored is also not clear. The NHS Digital website says it is stored on computer data servers held in one of the countries within the EEA - the UK is not part of the EAA (European Economic Area).

See here to find out what data is stored every time you use the NHS App

Working with US Data Companies and gathering your private data

You can download IQVIA brochure which details just how involved they are in transforming the NHS in 42 Integrated Care Systems entitled 'NHS Solutions' here, or from the E-Library here

In the meantime, Unionsafety has been made aware that some GP Surgeries report they have received no guidance on this issue and cannot advice patients. Despite this they SHOIULD and CAN refer patients to the above form and that it is available not only from the NHS website (if you can find it) and from Med.Confidential also.

Some statements from NHS website that clarifies what is and is not confidential patient information

This catch-all statement effectively means that NHS England and the Government can use the information they hold however and whenever they wish:

"The list of exclusions [to following your wishes} can change where a case has been made to the Department of Health and Social Care that the data collection is too significant to risk losing some patient data. For example, when the information may be required to inform key Government commitments and policies."

"Information that only identifies you, like your name and address, is not considered to be confidential patient information and may still be used."

" Information about your health or care that is anonymised so that you can no longer be identified is not considered to be confidential patient information."

"The choice you make applies to confidential patient information related to health and adult social care services in England, which are publicly funded or have been arranged by a public body. For example, a local authority. It does not apply to health and adult social care services that you receive outside of England or if you are a private patient."

All this is the reason why if you don't want your information sharing, it must not leave your GP surgery. You must tell your GP in order to stop your information being used by NHS England / NHS Digital.

Source: OpenDemcracy / Keep Our NHS Public / Med.Confidential / Daily Express / Daily Mail / The Guardian / NHS England / NHS Digital / IQVIA