Bless you Sanji. I haven't received anything yet in my junk mail and I would guess the same goes for many others. I'll certainly opt out and have forwarded the last link (http://medconfidential.org/) to family and friends.

Thank you Sanji I find it incredible that this has not caused a storm or a mention on TV or Radio. Its the first step in creating a medical underclass where you are liable to be rejected from insurance or forced into higher premiums depending on how insures interpret the infomation.

Thanks Sanji, I have shared this on my Facebook page, I wonder how many people actually know about this.

Thanks Sanji, we have received this leaflet, I only gave it a cursory look and failed to appreciate the implications. I have now read it again in the light of this thread and downloaded the opt out forms.

I am another one who will opt out looks like more privatization on the way.

I find it incredible that this has not caused a storm or a mention on TV or Radio. Its the first step in creating a medical underclass where you are liable to be rejected from insurance or forced into higher premiums depending on how insures interpret the infomation

Absolutely - this is giving private firms access to information that has been held by GPs as totally confidential material, as per their oath. It will be needed and be beneficial to private health care suppliers and insurance companies (if or when) the NHS is privatised.
Don't blame your GP - the law was changed in 2012 which makes it compulsory for GPs to release data to certain authorised departments, like researchers and government bodies.

Ask yourself these questions....
For something as important as this, why hasn't there been a televised announcement addressed to the population (like a short political broadcast) informing the population that a leaflet is about to be dropped through their letterbox, with information (glossed over information) about this new database and the changes to the handling/access of their medical records ?

Why is it been posted amongst junk mail?

Why hasn't the leaflet been addressed to 'The Householder' in an envelope and delivered with the 'normal' post?

What happens if you live in a block of flats and all the junk mail is left inside the entrance on the floor? How are you going to know about this?

What about if you're on holiday? What about those who live independent lives, who have a mental health issue and cannot comprehend the implications of this leaflet?....I could go on.

Why has the default setting been set to 'opt-in', when it should have been set to 'opt-out', until YOU DECIDE whether or not to allow your medical information to be shared with others?

I have shared this on my Facebook page, I wonder how many people actually know about this

PLEASE SHARE if you have loads of friends or visit other forums.
You DON'T have to make an appointment to see your GP. Your GP should add a code to your files that will stop the traffic on your medical files for this database.

I only gave it a cursory look and failed to appreciate the implications

That's exactly what the government are hoping the vast majority of the population will do. Also working on the assumption that the vast majority of the population will either place it in the bin if it's hidden inside other junk mail or never receive the leaflet in the first place.
If you want to opt- out, you need to act now!

The choice is yours

Sanji x
Edited to remove inaccurate information.

Thanks for the heads-up on this Sanji,have posted off the forms today,i only hope our doctor does as instructed and not ignore the instructions !

Regards
Alan

If you don't have access to a printer what's the alternative?

If you don't have access to a printer what's the alternative?

Hi Glynis,
There are no 'official' forms.
If you haven't or can't get access to a printer, you can email or write a letter your GP informing him/her that you want to opt-out and instructing him/her to add the codes to your files.

You can write a letter using the form produced by Medconfidential as a template. (time consuming I know, but make sure you write ALL the codes correctly).

Some surgeries are now supplying opt- out forms, so, it might be worth giving them a ring, saying you want to opt-out of the care.data scheme.

Sanji

Move to Scotland! I'm not being entirely facetious - the scheme that Sanji is referring to only applies to those living in England and so anybody living elsewhere in the UK will not be sent this mailing, junk or otherwise. This is not to say that NHS Scotland won't be considering something similar in the future but it is not happening here yet in the same way.

SM

Sanji wrote:

If you don't have access to a printer what's the alternative?

Hi Glynis,
There are no 'official' forms.
If you haven't or can't get access to a printer, you can email or write a letter your GP informing him/her that you want to opt-out and instructing him/her to add the codes to your files.

You can write a letter using the form produced by Medconfidential as a template. (time consuming I know, but make sure you write ALL the codes correctly).

Some surgeries are now supplying opt- out forms, so, it might be worth giving them a ring, saying you want to opt-out of the care.data scheme.

Sanji

Thanks Sanji x

They really are making it difficult, what about those without the Internet or computers? I feel for those who aren't aware of this information. It's bloody scandalous!

I'm going to go to the library and print of ours and my parents forms.

SMa wrote:

Move to Scotland! I'm not being entirely facetious - the scheme that Sanji is referring to only applies to those living in England and so anybody living elsewhere in the UK will not be sent this mailing, junk or otherwise. This is not to say that NHS Scotland won't be considering something similar in the future but it is not happening here yet in the same way.

SM

I read that SM brilliant, I hope they don't consider it

Thank you Sanji. Have printed off the link to download the form and will be at the surgery first thing on Monday morning. Have forwarded to friends and family.

i only hope our doctor does as instructed and not ignore the instructions !

If you instruct them, your GP *must* add the dissent codes to your record; if they don't they're breaching the DPA.
Might be a good idea to give them a few days and then contact the surgery to ask if your GP has added the codes to your files.

That's what I intend to do.

Sanji

I've found an excellent site that will give you all the information you need about this care.data scheme.
There is a long and informative page, and a more condensed page for those who just want the brief info. Just follow the links - It is written by Doctor Neil Bhatia.
http://www.care-data.info/

I have edited my previous posts, because the information I posted about January is wrong, - I try not to post inaccurate info, and provide links.

Where did the January date come from?
The extraction of data was scheduled to start in January, presumably the end of January. I read it myself on the Pulsetoday website, which is a website for health professionals, mainly doctors - Tonight it is causing my computer to flag up a virus threat, so I won't give the link.

I also read a tweet posted by someone who had phoned the number on the back of the leaflet, and they were answered by a snooty government employee, who told them that if they wanted to opt-out, they had to see their GP and that they only had until the end of January to opt-out - Both WRONG.

The extraction of data is now scheduled to begin in early March and you can opt - out (or opt - in) at any time in the future.
However, if you intend to opt- out, once the data has been extracted from your medical files, you cannot have it deleted or retrieve it, because your GP no longer becomes the controller of the data .The system will be kept 'up- to- date' by extracting data from your medical files every month thereafter.

Therefore, whilst there is no 'cut-off' date', the advice still stands, you must act now if you intend to opt-out - don't leave it too late until the state has grabbed your medical files and then do whatever they want with them.

Sanji x

Hi Sanji I had not heard of this either, I have printed off for my family and scanned to the surgery and will tell people that I know - this appears to be the best kept secret

Hi Sanji - thanks for this information. I work at a GP surgery and I didnt know about this.

One question though and I dont know if you will know the answer.

Some GP's hold patients records electronically and I can see how easy it is to get hold of this info, but a lot of surgeries hold the old paper notes. - (Lloyd George) We have the old paper notes (as we have in excess of16K patients, and its expensive to hold them electronically) Only up to date and then a condensed form of info is held electronically - all the 'exciting' stuff is written by hand in the paper notes.

Presumably this 'company' couldnt get hold of the paper notes, we as a practice couldnt do without the notes so they couldnt be removed from the practice.??

I got round to writing to my doctor's surgery yesterday, personalising the letter provided in one of your links Sanji. One thing though, what about our records which are now with the hospitals? I don't know how much of our information they hold (and in my case they often seem to lose it), but is our 'opt-out' passed to them as well?

SMa wrote:

Move to Scotland!

Lovely country, but too bluddy cold for me . I like plenty of this

I'm not being entirely facetious - the scheme that Sanji is referring to only applies to those living in England and so anybody living elsewhere in the UK will not be sent this mailing, junk or otherwise. This is not to say that NHS Scotland won't be considering something similar in the future but it is not happening here yet in the same way.

Be careful though, because anybody living in Scotland or Wales who receives care/treatment in the NHS England, will have their data collected/extracted.

11. How will patients who live in Wales or
Scotland but are receiving care in England be
informed about information sharing?

Patients who live in Scotland or Wales but receive care
through the English NHS will have their data included in
the extractions. These patients have the same right to
object as those patients who are resident in England.
The same guidelines apply in making these patients
aware as all patients in the practice. In addition, we are
currently exploring how best we can provide the same
leaflet to these patients as we are sending to every
household in England.

http://bma.org.uk/practical-support-at-work/ethics/confidentiality-and-health-records/care-data
Sorry, don't know how to post a PDF document in here, the above info can be found in the link ... FAQs for GPs on care.data (PDF)

Sanji x