Dr Sarah Wollaston: ‘Public health risks to data sharing for immigration purposes’

An agreement between the NHS and the Home Office to share patients’ addresses for immigration enforcement purposes should be ended immediately, according to the chair of the Commons health committee, the MP Dr Sarah Wollaston.

She has written to the head of NHS Digital, warning that the arrangement will not only undermine confidence in patient confidentiality, but put at risk efforts to build public support for data sharing that could assist medical research.