The NHS has been accused of violating laws by developing a large-scale data platform that will share patient information.
Four groups are filing a legal action against NHS England, stating that the establishment of the Federated Data Platform (FDP) lacks a legal foundation. They intend to request a judicial review of this determination.
Last week, NHS England caused uproar by awarding a £330 million contract to Palantir, an American company specializing in spy technology, to set up and manage the FDP for a period of seven years starting next spring.
The platform utilizes software to facilitate the sharing of information between health service trusts and integrated care systems, or groups of trusts at a regional level, with the goal of enhancing care.
The NHS in England has announced that this platform will assist hospitals in addressing the 7.8 million patients waiting for care and allow them to discharge medically stable patients earlier.
This could potentially be the initial step in a string of legal interventions driven by concerns that the FDP may result in violations of delicate patient medical data and the eventual sale of data.
Rosa Curling, the leader of Foxglove, an organization focused on monitoring large technology companies, is working together with others to file a lawsuit. She stated that the government has invested £330 million in revamping the management of NHS data, but surprisingly failed to ensure that the system is legal.
It is imperative to comply with the law when expanding access to confidential patient information.
According to her, the FDP cannot move forward without first receiving approval from Parliament in order to comply with the law. She stated, “The government must return to Parliament to establish appropriate guidelines for the sharing of data in this system. Until they do so, they are violating the law. Until they provide a clear plan on how they will respect patients’ right to opt out, they are headed for conflict with the public.”
Attorneys representing Foxglove, the Doctors’ Association UK, National Pensioners’ Convention, and the patient advocacy group Just Treatment, have issued a preliminary letter to DAC Beachcroft, the law firm that NHS England has contracted for managing legal affairs pertaining to the platform.
If the NHS cannot prove that it has the necessary authority to establish the FDP in its response, the four organizations will request a judicial review by the high court to determine the legality of NHS England’s decision to proceed with it.
Hope Worsdale, a Just Treatment spokesperson, said: “The trust that is vital to good patient care and the whole of the health system is being trashed by the government’s strategy to force this through.”
Worsdale stated that the ministers either neglected or intentionally avoided implementing the necessary actions to establish a strong legal basis for the FDP. This is because it would have required them to be accountable to the public for the significant changes it will bring to our health data.
The concerns raised by the four organizations were dismissed by NHS England as “completely inaccurate.” They maintained that they do have the legal power to move forward.
A representative from the NHS stated that the content of this letter shows a lack of understanding about the functioning of the Federated Data Platform and is completely incorrect in terms of both legalities and facts. The platform will solely utilize data that has been legally obtained by the NHS in order to provide direct care for patients, which is in accordance with all data protection regulations.
The Guardian contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for a reply.
Source: theguardian.com
