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NHS database - UK data control and privacy issue

  
 
Saturn's nod
14:22 / 01.11.06
Is anyone following this story?

I got an email suggesting mailing something like this to the Secretary of State for Health and copying it to your GP:

The Secretary of State for Health
Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP
Richmond House
79 Whitehall Terrace
London SW1A 2NS

Dear Ms Hewitt

I require you not to begin processing my sensitive personal data to the proposed NHS Summary Care Record on the Spine. It is likely to cause me substantial unwarranted distress because:

1. No 'sealed envelopes' yet exist to limit access
2. No online patient system yet exists to correct errors
3. Data uploaded may include genetic, psychological or sexual information
4. It is intended to make my data available to social workers, researchers and commercial firms
5. My consent will not be asked before beginning processing
6. Adequate criminal penalties against abuse do not yet exist
7. Police and other agencies can gain access to a potentially unlimited range of information about me. There is abundant evidence that computer databases - including police, vehicle licensing and banking computers - are routinely penetrated by private investigators on behalf of clients, including media organisations
8. 250,000 smart cards have been issued granting access to the Spine
9. The department threatens to withhold appropriate medical care to objectors
10. Doctors say there is no necessity to design the Spine in this way

For these reasons I strongly fear that I am in danger of having false or damaging health information fall into the wrong hands. My privacy is being unnecessarily violated.

Yours sincerely,
 
 
cliffchuff
16:36 / 03.11.06
As someone who works within the NHS (with drug misusers) who currently benifit from additional confidentiality in that they control access to their drug treatment unless safety issues override-ie child safety or suicide risk) this is something that concers me, as anyome within the health service will be able to access records confidentiality will be easily bought, circumscribed etc.

anyone accessing date will be recorded but its going to be a simple matter to buy someones log on and access all sorts of personal data.

i would expect private firms (insurance for instance) to either employ NHS staff as consultants or to hack into the system.

theres a similar scheme proposed for social services and realistically its going to be a nightmare with insufficent investment in IT or staff....

be interesting to see the first test cases go through the courts
 
 
redtara
22:59 / 04.11.06
I am torn between the conviction that very little good and a disproportionalte amount of harm will come from this and the knowledge that there has been a succession of failed over budget databases attempted over the last few years.

I know something has to be done despite the likelyhood that this is doomed to failure, because life under a legislation obsessed gov. with the power to investigate every aspect of a citizens life is the stuff of dysopian nightmares. I'm going to copy the leter and take to the manager of my health center and ask them if they'll keep a stock for patients to send off. Also going to put some in work for people to help themselves to. We might even provide postage.

Just got my babies their pass ports. Had to pay an extra tenner 'cos since 5/11/06 the pass ports of even infants must contain biometric data. The photo will be scanned and the information placed on a file somewhere??? I pointed out to the harrassed desk person that biometric data on 13 month olds is unlikely to be of anyuse within 6 months and that the passport was valid for 5years. 'Yeh' she said, 'I know'.

This spine thing is one of the ID Card's pimpley cousins. I should imagine that this will be expected to plug into the identity file that coppers and other civil servants may request access to. Essentially the ID card is a bit of a red herring. The card will carry a chip that will carry your fingerprints and other biometric data and access the identity file that is held on you. The file is not on the chip, it just allows a rozzer to access it after you have presented your card, however, you carry all your biometric data on your body anyway. The file can be accessed by a fingerprint scan (these are in use on the door of a couple of local bars) then we could all start having to swipe ourselves to access health care, financial services, fags, booze, fertilizor, education, information. The technology already exists to make it possible to read these chips remotely. We could spend all day having portions of our file accessed and amended by interests that are soley commercial as there is no clearly defined remit for the collection and distribution of data for any of these databases.

Zoiks!
 
  
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