BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT
BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT
06/09/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/09/2021 06:25
Right decision to delay central NHS digital database, says BCS
9 June 2021
The government has taken the right decision to delay the creation of a central NHS digital database from GP records in England by two months, according to the professional body for IT. BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT was amongst several organisations, including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of GPs, and the NHS itself, that raised concerns about its introduction on July 1st.
Dr Bill Mitchell OBE, Director of Policy at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said: 'Ethical use of health data benefits the whole of society - but it is difficult to know precisely who will be doing what with these records and the process should be far easier to understand and more visible to the general public.
'Most of the millions of people affected will be unaware that this is happening, even if there will be benefits for all of us from the research that NHS Digital is facilitating.
'There must be a robust mechanism for us to check what's actually going on with our data and to be told very clearly whenever there are significant changes to how our data is shared, if that might give us pause for thought.'
The date has now been pushed back to 1 September. Last week BCS questioned the lack of a public information campaign by NHS Digital, or letters sent to individuals explaining how their data would be used. BCS said this approach would erode public and professional trust in digital aspects of the health service.