Sir – Dr Gordon Gancz right draws attention to the underhand way in which the Government is trying to achieve its aims of collecting data.
Through the NHS leaflet Better Information Means Better Care, which could easily be mistaken for junk mail in the way it is being sent out to households, it seems that the Government is resorting to the tactics of the market place, relying on public inertia to ‘agree’ to their names to be included by stating “you do not need to do anything”.
The benign nature of the leaflet makes no mention that some of this information may be sold on to commercial organisations.
In contrast, NHS England, which I understand to be the privatised arm of the NHS, seems to be advocating double standards when it states that “it is not right for GP practices to make this decision on their patients’ behalf” in relation to Dr Gancz.
One wonders why the Government, then, is avoiding allowing patients to make a positive decision, instead of them risking being included by default.
Erica Hickson, Oxford
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