NHS data sharing with the Home Office is putting lives at risk

During a select committee hearing on Tuesday, I listened carefully as Marissa Begonia from the Voice of Domestic Workers described a harrowing story of how one of her members died after being too worried to seek medical help for a persistent cough. She was simply too frightened to visit a hospital or GP, for fear of her details being shared with the Home Office, and the consequences she could face as a result.

Her fears were well-founded. Thanks to a clause within the Health and Social Care Act (2012), confidential information provided to the NHS by patients is being used to help trace immigration offenders.

http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2018/01/18/the-sharing-of-patient-data-with-the-home-office-is-putting