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Written question asked by Tim Loughton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 9 November 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 November 2004. It was answered by Lord Hutton of Furness (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 November 2004 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, under what circumstances members of the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service will be able to procure patient records from general practitioners without consent; what penalties may be used against general practitioners who refuse to release patient records to members of the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service.
Answer

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) under what circumstances members of the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service will be able to procure patient records from general practitioners without consent; [198002] (2) what penalties may be used against general practitioners who refuse to release patient records to members of the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service. [198003] Mr. Hutton: The national health service Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) does not have any specific powers to require general practitioners to produce patient records or to impose penalties where records are not produced. The remit of the CFSMS is to bring fraud and corruption in the NHS down to an absolute minimum. Its primary interest is not, therefore, in patient records. On some occasions, however, records may be requested where they are needed for the thorough investigation of allegations of fraud or corruption. On 21 October my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord Warner) launched a consultation on proposals to introduce new powers which would allow NHS counter fraud specialists access to relevant documents, records and data where investigations require this. Such access would be strictly controlled and on the occasions where access is needed, we are seeking views on whether such records should be viewed by a clinical specialist who would accompany the NHS counter fraud specialist. The consultation on these proposals finishes on 21 January 2005 and we welcome all views on this issue. It is too early to say what shape any future measures may take but they will be informed by the outcome of the consultation exercise.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
426 c1670W;426 c1673W; 198002;198003
Session
2003-04
Subjects
Disclosure of information Data protection Fraud General practitioners NHS Medical records Counter Fraud and Security Management Service
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk