NHS England has been forced to delay the start of its big data programme – care.data – after admitting that the marketing campaign promoting the scheme had failed to get the message across.
The push featured a nationwide door-drop campaign to 22 million households. The contract was handled by The Leaflet Company and delivered via Royal Mail.
This was backed by posters in GPs practices and a contact centre. However, fewer than one-third of households claim to have actually received the leaflet, according to a BBC survey.
It has yet to be decided how the new campaign should be run, with some claiming it should be more high profile.
An NHS England spokesman said: “To ensure that the concerns are met, NHS England will begin collecting data from GP surgeries in the autumn, instead of April, to allow more time to build understanding of the benefits of using the information, what safeguards are in place, and how people can opt out if they choose to.”
The decision to delay the roll-out until October follows the intervention of the British Medical Association and privacy groups amid growing criticism that the opt-out had not been promoted enough.
And, earlier this week, an NHS England risk assessment showed that companies will be able to identify people on the database, depsite the data being anonymised, and that it could be vulnerable to hackers.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, of the BMA, said: “We are pleased that NHS England has listened to the concerns. With just weeks to go until the uploading of patient data was scheduled to begin, it was clear from GPs on the ground that patients remain inadequately informed about the implications of care.data.”
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