Fury As Tories Team Up With Google To Let Patients Read medical Records online

Tory plans to hand medical records over to Google and Microsoft could put personal information at risk, campaigners warned yesterday.

The Conservatives say the internet service will give patients greater freedom over health data, allowing them to check and even edit their NHS record online.

But critics, backed by the British Medical Association, claim the information could be vulnerable to hackers and the plan would make it harder for doctors to access information in an emergency.

Tory vision: NHS patients could soon be accessing their own health data using their personal computers via Google or Microsoft

Critics have questioned how close David Cameron is to Google Former shadow home secretary David Davis, now a privacy campaigner, has said Google was 'the last company' he would trust with sensitive data.

Questions have also been raised over whether Conservative leader David Cameron is too close to the company. His adviser Steve Hilton is married to Rachel Whetstone, Google's vice president of global communications and public affairs.

But the Tories say it would be up to primary care trusts to decide which of the rival systems to use and Google will not be the only option. The company has pledged not to use any information handed to it, for instance to advertise drugs that records show a patient could benefit from.

The Conservatives also say the voluntary plans will be more secure than Labour's centralised scheme, which will be accessible to thousands of NHS workers.

Under the Tory plans only patients and local GPs will be able to see information online.
The Government's Connecting for Health system is four years behind Google has been linked to privacy concerns, such as with their StreetView photo-mapping project schedule and will not be operating until 2012, at a cost of £12.4billion.

Under the Tory online proposal, records will be accessed securely via personal computers in the same way as bank account details.

Patients will be able to note symptoms and side effects and update their records with blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Tory health spokesman Stephen O'Brien said: 'Giving patients greater control over their health records is crucial if we are to make the NHS more patient-centred. Labour's attitude to our personal data is misguided. They seem to think they own it and have been appallingly careless in looking after it.' The BMA is concerned the system could put patients at risk.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, said: 'The security of web-based medical systems is of great concern, as are the implications of data being held by the private sector.

'We are concerned by the suggestion that healthcare staff could be restricted from accessing important clinical information.'

Tory Councillor's Wife Jailed For Drunken Wrong-way 90mph Motorway Suicide Bid

A Tory councillor's wife has been jailed after speeding at 90mph the wrong way down a dual carriageway in a botched suicide attempt.
Dawn Collins, who was more than twice the legal drink-drive limit, hurtled along the fast lane of the A1139 in Peterborough before colliding head-on with another vehicle.
The driver, Robert Hoogstraten, suffered serious injuries in the horrific smash on March 7 this year, and Mrs Collins was left with injuries including a fractured pelvis, knee and elbow.

Suicide attempt: Dawn Collins (left), the wife of Tory councillor Mark Collins, has been jailed for 18 months after drunkenly speeding at 90mph the wrong way down a dual carriageway
Mrs Collins, the wife of Conservative councillor for Peterborough's East ward Mark Collins, was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment at Peterborough Crown Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol in her blood.
The court heard how she stormed out of her home in Paston, Peterborough, following an argument with her husband and made the decision to 'end it all'.
Mrs Collins then drove the wrong way round a roundabout linking the A1139 with the A1 before heading on to the fast lane of the Fletton Parkway dual carriageway.
The prosecution described how two drivers were forced to swerve out of the way as Mrs Collins' silver Ford Escort ‘flashed’ straight towards them at 80 to 90mph.
But as motorist Mr Hoogstraten pulled out into the fast lane to overtake a lorry Mrs Collins ploughed into his silver Mazda 6, causing massive damage to both cars.
He was trapped in his car for 90 minutes before being cut out by firefighters and was taken to hospital with a broken hand and severe bruising.

Mr Hoogstraten has also started receiving treatment for heart problems brought about by the impact.

When Mrs Collins was interviewed by police the following month, she claimed she had been travelling in the right direction.

Nicola Devas, mitigating, said Mrs Collins had intended to drive into crash barriers rather than another motorist.

She said: 'She had made a fairly impulsive decision to commit suicide.

'She had no idea that she was on the wrong side of the road.'

Mrs Devas said Mrs Collins had been suffering from 'moderate depression' and was so full of remorse she had vowed never to drink or get behind the wheel of a car again.

Sentencing, Judge Sean Enright said he had reduced the jail sentence from the two-year maximum because of Collins' remorse and guilty plea.

He warned the sentence could have been higher if drink driving legislation allowed for greater penalties.

He said: 'It does not seem to me that the penalty for dangerous driving of only two years is sufficiently great, but there it is.'

Mrs Collins was also banned from driving for seven years.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown Has Expressed Sadness And Anger At The Outcome Of The Trial Of Aung San Suu Kyi

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has expressed sadness and anger at the outcome of the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and has referred to the trial as a sham. He has also called for further international sanctions against the Burmese regime.

'I am both saddened and angry at the verdict today, 11 August , following the sham trial of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The news - that she has been found guilty and sentenced to three years hard labour but that this has been “mitigated” to a suspended sentence of 1.5 years under house arrest - is further proof that the military regime in Burma is determined to act with total disregard for accepted standards of the rule of law and in defiance of international opinion.

This is a purely political sentence designed to prevent her from taking part in the regime’s planned elections next year. So long as Aung San Suu Kyi and all those political opponents imprisoned in Burma remain in detention and are prevented from playing their full part in the political process, the planned elections in 2010 will have no credibility or legitimacy.
The façade of her prosecution is made more monstrous because its real objective is to sever her bond with the people for whom she is a beacon of hope and resistance.

I have always made clear that the United Kingdom would respond positively to any signs of progress on democratic reform in Burma. But with the generals explicitly rejecting that course today, the international community must take action.

The EU has agreed to impose tough new sanctions targeting the economic interests of the regime.

I also believe that the UN Security Council - whose will has been flouted - must also now respond resolutely and impose a world wide ban on the sale of arms to the regime.
My thoughts today are with Aung San Suu Kyi - the human face of Burma’s tragedy - and with the people of Burma who suffer on a daily basis.'

During an interview with the Radio 4 Today programme this morning, Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis referred to the outcome of Aung San Suu Kyi's trial as ' a tragedy for Burmese people', and he backed the Prime Minister's call for sanctions against the regime in Burma.

Notes for Editors

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