Patient Data fears and the Tory Health Bill

The current progress of the Tory top down NHS reorganisation Bill is bogged down in Parliament. The Tories aim to get Royal Assent by the end of April but are facing pressure to back down on some amendments if they are to implement it by the 1^st July 2022.

The Bill has no real focus on solving the staffing and chronic funding problems and is clearly about opening up access to the NHS for further privatisation of services.

One area that has faced little scrutiny has been plans to implement the digital transformation of the NHS data systems. The topic sounds dry but the NHS patient data is worth an estimated $10 billion per year to private health companies around the globe[1]. The digitalisation of the NHS will establish the systems that enforce strict budgets that will ration health care of patients and enable private companies to extract profits from the NHS.

The Digital Task force makes it’s aims clear ‘improved efficiency’ and ‘rapid innovation in business models to better share ‘savings’ from digital innovations[2]. Questions are being asked about the ‘digital partners. The Software giant Palantir made £22 million profit from an NHS digital deal in 2021[3] Concerns were raised about the suitability of companies like Palantir and their ethical suitability following their involvement in the disgraced Trump detention and deportation digital systems[4].

For more information about the Data aspects of the NHS reforms:

Watch the Keep  Our NHS Public Video Meeting: What’s happening to our NHS data? – YouTube

Useful briefings and documents can be found at the Keep  Our NHS Data Working Group:

Health Data Working Group – Keep Our NHS Public