Last week, most people across Wallasey received a small blue card from the Primary Care Trust (PCT), explaining about a new service ‘Wirral Keep Well’. Presumably the names and addresses of patients registered with local GPs have been used.
My colleague and Parliamentary candidate, Cllr Leah Fraser has done some digging and has discovered that this is not just a one-off initiative about collecting anonymous data to improve PCT services. It is, infact, the first stage of a plan by an American company to obtain as much data as possible about patients in Wirral. The Health Dialog Services Corporation, based in Boston, is part of the ongoing move announced by Gordon Brown to transfer large parts of the NHS to the private sector.
The card gave no indication of the role of this American corporation yet the next stage will see the Health Dialog Services Corporation build a profile of the health of Wirral’s population and design a telephone-based service around it.
This development makes it more difficult for patients to control who does, and doesn’t, have access to their personal records. Clearly this project is loaded with risk and poses a far bigger threat to the patient-GP relationship than the creation of so-called polyclinics.
Strange that when you go to the PCT’s web site the page that has information about ‘Wirral’s Keep Well’is unavailable. I wonder are they trying to hide something?
So watch out, if you receive this innocuous small blue card from Wirral’s Primary Care Trust and you don’t want your personal details disclosing, make sure that you contact your GP and the PCT and opt out of this scheme. If you don’t opt out then your details will be sent to America.
You can read about this in more detail by clicking here.
[...] last week I have been contacted by literally hundreds of people all concerned about the actions of Wirral’s Primary Care Trust in sending out a little blue card, (looks like junk mail), under the name of ‘Wirral [...]
Hi,
I am most disturbed by what I have just read regarding the Wirral PCT!
After reading this card I was under the impression that this was sent to me with my doctors permission! I am sure It coincided with another card form Catherines hospital, Birkenhead! It was some weeks ago now and I don’t remember seeing anything about opting out or in to anything!
I do not want any of my details to go out of my doctors hands and onto someone else’s computer! If I have, by being misguided, sent this of to Boston, what can be done to retrieve it!
Dear Mrs Rees-Davies
I would advise you to contact the Practice Manager at your GP’s as quickly as possible and tell them that you wish to opt out of the scheme.
Regards
Cllr Chris Blakeley
SURELY THE DISCLOSURE OF SUCH INFORMATION TO A THIRD PARTY ( ESPECIALLY NOT GOVERNMENT ) WITHOUT SPECIFIC WRITTEN PERMISSION CONTRAVENES THE DATA PROTECTION ACT 2000.
I SUPPOSE THEIR EASIEST WAY OUT WOULD BE TO LEAVE A COUPLE OF CD’S HOLDING SUCH INFORMATION ON A BUS/TRAIN/PLANE, APOLOGISE FOR THEIR INCOMPETANCE AND SAY IT WASN’T A REAL SECURITY RISK ANYWAY. WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON – WE WOULD LIKE AN EXPLANATION.
I did not receive a card as my GP Practice is not involved. However they found it necessary to inform the local paper of their non-involvement due to many enquiries. This whole affair is most disturbing.
[...] PCT mailed thousands of patients of those GP’s surgery’s who wish to participate, a small blue card (resembled junk mail) and patients were asked to sign it and return it if they wished to Opt Out of [...]
[...] all our medical records on to an american database in the name of progress. People were sent a ‘Small Blue Card’ and if they did not complete it and opt out of the process then by default their medical records [...]