Police want right to see medical records without consent
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עברית (Hebrew)
Police want new and expanded rights to access medical records and other confidential data without an individual’s consent, a senior police chief has told the Guardian.
Sir Peter Fahy, the Greater Manchester chief constable, said the extra access to sensitive data was needed to help police cope with growing numbers of vulnerable people.
Fahy said police frequently dealt with people struggling to look after themselves, including elderly people, people with dementia or Alzheimer’s, those with drug or alcohol problems, those with mental health issues and problem families. Perhaps most controversially, he said medical professionals should share information about women suffering from domestic abuse, even against the victim’s wishes.
He said demands had changed over the past two decades, with vulnerable groups now accounting for around 70% of police work. “We need to have easier access to information,” he said.
“We could do a better job if we have greater access to information, which it is currently hard for us to get,” he said. “It would give us a deeper understanding of those we are expected to help and their problems. The actions we take would be much improved if we had a better understanding of that history at the time we are called.”
iHLS – Israel Homeland Security
Police have long been in conflict with the medical profession over access to sensitive information, with doctors arguing that patient privacy is their prime concern.
Dr Tony Calland, of the British Medical Association, said: “The essential principle that runs throughout the recording of medical information is that of confidentiality and trust. This principle has stood the test of time for millennia and still holds good today.
“At present the checks and balances in the current legal position are satisfactory and whilst the current law may cause some difficulty for the police the case has not been made to recommend a substantial change in the law.”
