UK Police Will Have Backdoor Access To Health Records

kc123 writes "David Davis MP, a former shadow home secretary, has told the Guardian that police would be able to access the new central NHS database without a warrant as critics warn of catastrophic breach of trust. The database that will store all of England's health records has a series of 'backdoors' that will allow police and government bodies to access people's medical data. In the past police would need to track down the GP who held a suspect's records and go to court for a disclosure order. Now, they would be able to simply approach the new arms-length NHS information centre, which will hold the records. The idea that police will be able to request information from a central database without a warrant totally undermines a long-held belief in the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship."

Comments

Re:stating the obvious?

[Daniel Dvorkin]

The point is that the NHS has existed for decades, but this "push-button access to everybody's medical conditions" is new. It's not inherently a single-payer problem; it's a government-not-respecting-people's-rights problem.