Time to decide folks, which is most important, locking away information which would be useful for doctors, nurses and paramedics in caring for us (about our allergies, current medications and illnesses) or locking all this information away under the strictest security where no-one can get it without us filling out forms in triplicate, granting our consent to share information which most of us assumed was already shared!

As David Nicholson says, the information that has been lost by the NHS was from old systems and processes. If the new systems are better controlled than internet banking and if we can be sure people will be sacked if they misuse or abuse it, I for one would be happy for it to go ahead.

Never mind the national stuff, what really worries me is the information held on my GP's computer and whether a simple burglary would result in my own sensitive, intimate and confidential information being flogged in an on-line auction house along with the stolen computer

Dave , Preston, UK

We are all taken for fools by these idiots - scrap this so called data base and give as little information as possible.
Big brother is a little late in arriving but it is sure on it's way.

roy newman, sheffield, england

Contradicting the evidence like that just goes to show how little we should be trusting these officials
When there's been a recent security breech it is obvious that the records are not safe and i'd rather have control over My records
When i can see who accessed them and for what reasons & what is being stored (all of it), then maybe some trust might happen
Anyone here who believes these claims?

tom, york,

Our records are not safe now, we have workers accessing them left right and centre. The IT system just gives workers easy access to have a nosey and to make more mistakes.

Zoe, Lancashire, uk

Nobody should underestimate the difficulty of managing large collections of confidential data. The problems exist in both paper based and electronic collections. Information Management requires movement of data and this always carries a risk. The problems are often centred on the shortcuts imposed by cost cutting, targets and poor understanding of the systems by those who just want results and efficiency savings. ITcompanies have experts who exploit the mythical problem solving properties of computers - they are called salesmen.

Harry Willis, North Yorkshire ,

“This is a very high level of security. There isn’t going to be a huge national database,”

No, there won't be. I am very certain you will lose the whole thing in the post!

Edwin, Bucharest,