Starmer Backs Digital Health Records Following Blair’s Call to Sell NHS Data

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer gives a speech at the National Composites Centre at Bristol and Bath Science Park, in Bristol, England, on Jan. 4, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/PA

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to introduce NHS “patient passports” to provide an individualised digital record of confidential health information if Labour wins the forthcoming general election.

He was speaking on a Times of London radio programme after the newspaper promoted the idea of digital health records in its own campaign, raising concerns in some quarters over data protection and privacy.

Many are worried that such patient passports could be used to monitor whether or not people have had recommended vaccines after worldwide attempts in the last few years to restrict the civil rights of those who declined the COVID-19 jabs.

Sir Keir said that Labour supports plans to reform the way NHS records are stored, which could put the party at odds with GPs, who currently own most of the data.

“Yes, we want to get behind this proposal,” he said. “I think it’s a very important reform that we need to make. It will be part of a package of reforms because the NHS is on its knees under this government, and it is unforgivable to take the NHS and 14 years later deliver a worse NHS to the country than when you inherited it. We will have to pick it up.”

The year-long commission’s report has proposed developing digital health records which it says would simplify treatment by allowing patients to access them wherever they seek treatment in the NHS, with the newspaper claiming a YouGov poll shows 8 out of 10 people support such digitisation.

‘Misleading Claim’

However, Conservative MP David Davis questioned the validity of the poll.

“A distinctly misleading claim when @thetimes say 8 out of 10 people want digital health information,” the former Brexit secretary said on X, previously known as Twitter.

“It used to be 8 out of 10 people wanted ID cards. But when the state lost over 25 million records, that reversed to 8 out of 10 people being against them. How much did the pollsters explain the risk to privacy in what is the most sensitive data a person has?” Mr. Davis asked.

“Digitising health data is a good idea. But it can only be allowed with strong safeguards preventing misuse - not just by the state, but by private companies & criminals. One of the most important safeguards would be to prevent data from being sold to companies in the first place.”

The Times Health Commission heard evidence from various high profile individuals, including Dame Kate Bingham, the former head of the government’s vaccine taskforce, who steered procurement of the various COVID-19 jabs before becoming a managing partner at venture capital firm, SV Health Investors, which has multiple interests in biotech and medtech.

It also heard from former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, former Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies, and Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, the largest biomedical research centre in Europe. Members of the commission include SAGE member Sir John Bell, Asda Chairman Lord Rose, and Clare Gerada, president of the Royal College of GPs.

Rallygoer protesting against COVID-19 vaccine passports at the Worldwide Rally for Freedom, Peace, and Human Rights in Sydney, Australia, on May 15, 2021. The Epoch Times

During the lockdown era, there was worldwide resistance to the use of “vaccine passports,” used in many countries to grant basic rights, such as freedom to travel and even go to the supermarket, to those who had taken the COVID-19 jabs.

While the situation in the UK was not the same as the two-tier system created in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, the NHS app, which has been downloaded by more than 30 million people, was effectively turned into a vaccine passport during the lockdowns, with the option to show a negative test result instead of proof of having had the jabs.

Cross-Party Call to Sell Data

The opposition pledge on NHS passports comes after Sir Tony Blair and Lord William Hague coauthored a report calling on the NHS to sell anonymised health data, which they claim would help Britain lead a biotech and artificial intelligence revolution.

In a joint proposal set out in a 72-page report published by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the former Labour prime minister and ex-Conservative leader called for the sale of anonymised medical records to help pay for the health service.

The former political foes urged the government to pursue a “new national purpose” in putting the UK at the forefront of biotechnology to safeguard Britain’s prosperity.

As well as a “fresh approach” to patient data, they called for the creation of a new “laboratory of biodesign” that would “focus on the invention of new biotechnology that is at too early a stage for commercial investors.”

Sir Tony and Lord Hague also proposed the establishment of a new “NHS Data Trust” to “capitalise on the opportunities of health data.”

“Owned and controlled by the NHS in collaboration with trusted external partners, the NHSDT would treat NHS data as a competitive asset whose value can be realised for the benefit of the public,” their report says.

‘"This would involve providing anonymised data to research entities, including biotech companies, in return for financial profit that would then benefit our health service.

“A transparent governance model would ensure that our data remain safe and that NHSDT’s operations align with public-health objectives, not private capital’s.”

The pair used The Times of London to promote their proposals in a joint article, the third in a series they have coauthored in the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper.

‘Ethical and Practical Considerations’

Subhajit Basu, professor of law and technology at the University of Leeds, said the proposal raises questions about issues around patient consent and accountability.

“On the one hand, their report suggests that anonymised NHS data could be a valuable resource for driving medical innovation, especially in AI and biotechnology,” he said in an email to The Epoch Times.

“On the other hand, there are significant ethical and practical considerations to take into account.”

The professor said selling medical data “raises questions about patient consent and the commodification of personal health information” even when data is anonymised, adding that there is a “delicate balance between fuelling medical advancement and protecting individual privacy rights.”

Mr. Basu said creating a separate company tasked with managing NHS data could lead to concerns over “accountability and transparency in how this data is used.”

“It’s crucial to consider who ultimately benefits from such arrangements and whether they align with the wider public interest, particularly in a health care system that is publicly funded and trusted by its users,” he said.

“There is an inherent risk that the pursuit of profitability could overshadow the primary objective of health care—to provide equitable and ethical medical treatment to all.”

Lily Zhou contributed to this report.