Isle of Man patient records not included in NHS Digital project

Isle of Man GP patient records will not be included in the project

Manx patient information will not be included in a project in England to use medical data for research purposes, the health department has said.

The initiative by NHS Digital will see personal data in doctors' patient records added to a database that will be accessed by researchers.

Health Minister David Ashford said there had "never been any proposal" for the Isle of Man to be included.

Manx GP records were "ring-fenced", he added.

The creation of a central NHS digital database from GP records in England, known as the General Practice Data for Planning and Research system, will start collecting information from September after being delayed by two months.

People in England who do not want their data to be included in the database will have to opt-out of the system.

Mr Ashford said although the Secretary of State for Health had "exercised his power" under UK law to collect the data, the Isle of Man was a separate jurisdiction.

He said: "We don't have any equivalent legislation, or any legal 'gateway' that would permit such data gathering.

"Island GPs will remain the guardian of their patients' data."