It’s time to protect our medical data

Care.data: the scheme that would give our personal medical data to private companies. It’s being rolled out in just a few weeks’ time.

But 92% of 38 Degrees members think we should get the scheme stopped until we can make sure our health data won’t end up in private hands. So let’s get going!

The scheme’s being tested in 6 pilot areas before it goes nationwide. We’ll need to throw everything at it in these areas if we want to stop the roll-out. We’ll have to show NHS England that thousands of us will opt out of the whole scheme if they won’t let us decide who gets our personal data.

So here’s the plan:
– First we let everyone know it’s happening. Thousands of us could call people living where it’s being rolled out first, telling them about Care.data. We could flyer every house, buy local advertising space and do lots of other things.
– Next, we help people opt out. We could build a website where people can opt out of Care.data easily until NHS England fix the scheme.

But we’ll need money to make all that happen. Will you chip in to help fund a massive campaign to get Care.data stopped in the pilot areas? Click here

Done right, Care.data could be used to make our NHS better. Our data could be used by researchers to develop new treatments and improve public health. But right now, NHS England won’t let us decide who gets our data: NHS doctors and researchers, or private companies.

If the pilot goes well, Care.data will be rolled out across the country. Together, we need to stop it now – and get it fixed – before it goes national. NHS England could change the system so that we can opt out of private companies getting our data. So let’s make sure they do.

The last time NHS England tried to sneakily hand our medical records to private companies, thousands of us threatened to opt out. So they ‘paused’ the project, and it looked like they’d backed down. This time, not much has changed. Their version of Care.data still stinks.

We need to show NHS bosses we want an NHS that works for us, not private companies – if they don’t change Care.data, the public will opt out.

But we’ll only be able to do this if enough of us chip in. Can you chip in a few pounds now to stop Care.data until it’s fixed?