08.03.18
RCGP ‘concerned’ by continuation of data-sharing MoU
NHS Digital is to continue its data-sharing agreement with the Department of Health & Social Care and the Home Office, despite recommendations from the cross-party Health Select Committee to suspend it.
The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has written to the chief executive of NHS Digital to outline its concerns about this decision.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the three organisations permits the disclosure of NHS data to help the Home Office track those suspected of immigration-related offences, including overstaying a visa.
In her letter to the organisation, RCGP chair Helen Stokes-Lampard wrote that the college is concerned about the possible impact on patient confidentiality, and argued that there is “no requirement to change the current system, which enables information and records to be obtained via court order.”
She also warned of the impact that the MoU could have on the relationship between GPs and their patients: “GPs and other health professionals have a duty to deliver care to patients, regardless of their individual circumstances.
“This care is provided on the mutual understanding that the information our patients share with us remains confidential. This principle is fundamental to the trust which exists between doctors and patients. Any process that undermines this trust will both deteriorate the doctor-patient relationship, and deter vulnerable people from seeking medical assistance when they need it.
“It is crucial that vulnerable patients do not stop presenting to their GP fearing the consequence of immigration enforcement.”
The college’s comments come after Dr Sarah Wollaston, chair of the Health Committee, wrote to the chief executive of NHS Digital to recommend that the MoU be suspended until there has been a review of public interest.
Caroline Noakes, immigration minister, and Lord O’Shaughnessy, health undersecretary, in turn wrote to Wollaston expressing that they were “disappointed” that she had written to just one of the three members of the MoU.
In their letter, they said that there appeared to be a misunderstanding of how the Home Office uses the data obtained through the MoU, with a presumption that it uses it to “track down and remove undocumented migrants.”
However, it states that requests made under the MoU must relate to known immigration offenders who have ceased contact with the Home Office.
They wrote that the government would be concerned if people were not seeking healthcare where they are legally entitled to do so, but said that “anecdotal evidence needs to be approached with caution.”
The government has commissioned Public Health England to investigate the effect of the MoU on health-seeking behaviours, who will report back by January 2019. Until the findings of this review are published, the RCGP is urging NHS Digital to suspend the MoU as recommended by Wollaston.
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