§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make available details of the recommendations of the Körner steering group on the future safeguards to family medical practitioners with regard to pressures from family practitioner committees and health authorities to divulge confidential information appertaining to patients under their care; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe Steering Group on Health Services Information (the Körner committee) has not considered directly the information held or needed by general medical practitioners or family practitioner committees. The steering group will shortly be publishing a report from its working group on confidentiality, which will offer advice to health authorities on policies and management arrangements for securing the confidentiality of the information they hold about patients and employees who are their responsibility. The report is not concerned with information held by general medical practitioners about patients in their care.