The Healthcare Industry - The NHS as a Prime Suspect of Data Abuse

Post written by David β€’ Published on (Last updated on )
title image

In June 2021, the UK government used the tagline 'Data Saves Lives' to release its plan to harvest patient data. As per usual, we were told a positive which always hides a multitude of negatives.

The negatives are that your personal health data would be made available to researchers and companies for healthcare research, planning and of course, marketing for profit.

The public were given just 6 weeks' notice of these changes and to opt out of this involuntary scheme. Luckily, 1.3 million people did and the plan was put on hold only to return quietly in June 2022.

If you did not opt-out of this scheme by September 2021, your historic patient records are now stored, alongside 55 million others in a digital database being shared with 3rd parties.

You can still opt out but only NEW data will not be stored. We encourage ALL to do so.

πŸ“ˆπŸ“Š What data do they collect? πŸ“ˆπŸ“Š

It's quite a list; Diagnoses, symptoms, observations, test results, medications, allergies, immunisations, referrals, recalls and appointments, including information about physical, and mental and sexual health. Information about data on sex, ethnicity and sexual orientation, and data about staff who have treated patients.

πŸ‘€πŸš“ Caught in the Act πŸ‘€πŸš“

It wasn't long before the truth of the scheme became apparent.

In May 2023, twenty NHS trusts were caught sharing your data with Facebook for targeted advertising purposes. These twenty trusts implanted a covert tracking tool in its websites, allowing Facebook to access your confidential browsing information.

Facebook then used the data to identify users by matching their IP address and Facebook account.

It then served you health-related ads based on what medical ailments you had.

In Scotland too, in an article posted just yesterday, NHS staff were caught using Whatsapp (owned by Facebook) to share patient photos and patient details including children's names and addresses! This group had been set up in March 2020!

WHEN DID DOCTOR/PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY DISAPPEAR?!

πŸ§ͺ The Remedy πŸš‘

''Revert To Manual''.

πŸ‘‰ Go and see the doctor face to face

πŸ‘‰ Avoid using any digital services if possible

πŸ‘‰ Call to make an appointment or better still, drop in on the way home from work

πŸ‘‰ Use privacy tech when browsing the internet to prevent trackers discovering your most intimate information

πŸ‘‰ MOST IMPORTANTLY - OPT OUT NOW!

Found this useful? Sign-up to our newsletter to get the latest privacy tips & news: Learn More

Sign-up to Our Newsletter

Your email is only used to deliver our newsletter, nothing else!

Get big tech news and developments, privacy violations, tips to protect yourself in a fast–changing privacy landscape, plus the occasional discount code straight to your inbox.

Written by real people, not AI, factually sourced and respectfully offered in one bundled digest.