Government 'failing to act on serious concerns about NHS data sharing' raised by doctors

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. This behaviour calls into question NHS Digital’s ability to robustly act on behalf of patients in the event of other data-sharing requests including from other government departments in the future.” A new report by the committee states that there must be a proper consultation with all interested parties, with the full involvement of experts in medical ethics, and that the decision should also take “full account” of the public health concerns raised by Public Health England. Dr John Chisholm, medical ethics committee chair of the British Medical Association, which has been vocal in its opposition to this data-sharing arrangement, said it risked “undermining the very foundation of the doctor-patient relationship” and urged NHS Digital to suspend the MoU “immediately”. “The issue of data sharing raises a number of ethical issues for doctors, who are bound by principles of confidentiality, so it is quite simply astounding that no professional medical ethicist was approached in the supposed ‘meaningful’ consultation ahead of the MoU’s introduction.” Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, meanwhile warned that the Home Office was displaying a “blatant disregard” for the GP-patient relationship, warning that the policy risked “alienating highly vulnerable patients”. Data sharing should have been stopped when the Health and Social Care Committee first called for it, and it certainly should stop now they have, for a second time, demanded an end to this short-sighted and unethical practice.” Lucy Jones, director of programmes at Doctors of the World, which runs clinics for undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, said she saw the “incredibly harmful impact” the data-sharing deal has on patients “day in, day out”.