London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Labour asks NHS and Matt Hancock to pause plans for sharing patient data

Labour asks NHS and Matt Hancock to pause plans for sharing patient data

Shadow health minister Alex Norris and doctors’ groups believe proposals risk undermining trust in GPs

Labour has urged the NHS and Matt Hancock to pause their plan to share medical records from GPs to allow time for greater consultation on how the idea would work, saying that maintaining patients’ trust must be paramount.

In a letter to the head of NHS Digital and the health secretary, the shadow public health minister, Alex Norris, said Labour backed the principle of improved data collaboration but shared the concerns of some doctors’ groups.

The Royal College of General Practitioners warned NHS Digital a week ago that plans to pool medical pseudonymised records on to a database and share them with academic and commercial third parties risked affecting the doctor-patient relationship.

NHS Digital needed to explain the plans better to the public, the group said, as well as outlining how people could opt out.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has also called for a pause to the General Practice Data for Planning and Research scheme. Another group, the Doctors’ Association, said it was worried it would “erode the doctor/patient relationship, leaving patients reluctant to share their problems due to fears of where their data will be shared”.

In a letter to Sarah Wilkinson, chief executive of NHS Digital, copied to Hancock, Norris said the coronavirus pandemic had demonstrated the benefits of sharing knowledge between various health sectors.

He wrote: “However, for data sharing to work, it must be built on trust. I share the concerns that have been voiced by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and Doctor’s Association UK about the lack of communication with patients on this issue, and on the lack of consultation. Without consultation and clear communication with patients, trust in this process is undermined.

“For these plans to be effective, and confidence in their doctors and the wider NHS to be maintained, it is vital that patients whose data will be shared have a clear understanding of this process.”

Norris said there was a need in particular for greater public information on what data would be made available and who would be able to access it, as well as limits and safeguards for its use, and how people could opt out.

This must be a central effort, rather than just being left to individual GPs, to ensure a consistent message, he said, and given the current “confusion and lack of transparency”, the scheme would be paused ahead of both a public information campaign and a consultation.

Under the system, data from GP surgeries from England from up to 10 years ago would be extracted to a central, anonymised database, with new information added as it comes in to doctors.

While the NHS says data will be used for planning and research purposes, some private sector organisations will be able to see it, with approval from advisory groups. Patients can opt out if they do so before 23 June.

A government spokesperson said: “Patient data saves lives, and we could not have delivered the Covid-19 vaccine rollout if we had not used data to ensure we reach the whole population.

“The new programme for collecting data has been developed in collaboration with doctors, patients and data, privacy and ethics experts to improve systems for data collection.

“We continue to engage with the BMA and RCGP, and remain committed to being transparent with patients and the public about the collection and use of data.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
×