GPs are the biggest hurdle for the new NHS database

In a recent survey conducted by the Guardian newspaper poll of over 1000 GPs (General practitioners) and hospital doctors found that a large proportion feared the security of the new system. GPs will consider refusing to upload patient records onto the new database in an act of defiance of the government.

An estimated 80% of doctors felt that the confidentiality of their patients would be at serious risk.

The system know as the electronic warehouse (Spine) is a major part of the NHS’s £12 billion IT upgrade, which aims to link over 30,000 general practitioners to NHS hospitals, which in turn should give patients access to their personal health and care information.

GP’s are not against a national electronic record and believe that it could bring lots of clinical benefits to patients, however over 51% were unwilling to allow an individuals personal data to be uploaded without consent being obtained first.

Ministers had wrongly assumed that doctors would provide this information without asking their patients permission.

The British Medical Association has confirmed that they also share the concerns of GP’s (General practitioners) saying that “We are worried that patients are not going to have all the information that they need to know about their personal records”. “In general we are in favour of a system that seeks explicit consent”.

It is vital to get the process of consent right first time as once the record has been stored on ‘spine’ the will be no way of removing it.

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