Share your views on how the NHS uses your data

News - 17 March 2025

Healthwatch teams in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk are asking people to share their views on how their data is used and shared by the NHS.
Illustration of person sitting at a computer at a desk. Text says: Patient Data Project.

At the moment, the NHS collects a large amount of data about patients including name, address, prescription details, and information about care and diagnosis.

As a matter of routine, this is shared unless you automatically opt out because the NHS says it helps it provide the best possible care and treatment.

The information is also brought together by health bodies so they can get in contact with people who need extra support.

It would be time-consuming and difficult to get individual consent, and so the NHS has to get permission from the Government about whether they can use this information without consent on a project-by-project basis.

Now health leaders in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk and Waveney, want to make sure people are aware of how their data is shared in these circumstances and how they should be consulted about this.

Find out more and share your views here.

 

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