Budget Day

Dear Darling Alistair
I'm so sorry you had such a horrible budget on which to make a speech. There isn't much you can say when the UK has gone BUST. Up to it's collective ears in Debt. In spite of the previous Chancellor boasting many times that he'd abolished the cycle of Boom and BUST. Gordon looked so happy at the end of your speech. Even the skin around his eyes crinkled when he grinned. I assume he looked happy that he was no longer in that post when the BUST hit the fan. Relieved in fact that he wasn't the one who had to deliver the figures himself.

But you looked so sad. You almost looked on the verge of tears. I think you should have squeezed in a few words to say that we are now BUST as the previous incumbent of your post failed to save for these rainy days. He enjoyed the BOOM but frittered it away. As he did with with the nation's gold reserves.

Yours
A Floating Voter

HMRC HM Revenue & Customs

HMRC stands for HM Revenue & Customs. What strange customs they must have at HMRC. HMRC obviously don't have to worry about the Data Protection Act. Firewall protection. Fraudulent use of information. Identity theft. Any kind of protection. No kind of protection. Protection rackets.

Now when I was at work and we had an audit the auditor came to our office to inspect the files on site. They were confidential and we were responsible for them. Therefore they were only taken out by the case worker. If any other person within the organisation needed to see them they came to us and sat in our office while they went through our files. Using our computers with us logging on to the files and system with our password.

Don't Auditors do that any more? What is the point of an audit if you can't check the system on site. Surely anyone could pull the wool over an Auditors eyes by selecting what information to send off to the Auditor. Exactly what were they going to audit? Maybe it was an audit testing out the security in connection with the Data Protection Act. Especially after their previous embarrassing lapse in security in September.

NHS Care Records Wikedpedia Service

I hear the NHS is to bring in an electronic patient's note system which anyone will be able to access nationwide. In the event you are suddenly taken ill or in an accident miles from home your records will be accessible via the www NHS ' secure' link. Why this would be needed I'm not at all clear. For a start you would have to be conscious enough to give them your name, DOB and home address etc for them to be able to identify you from all the other 'John Smiths' on the system. So if you can supply that information then I'm sure you would be able to answer yes/no as to whether you are male/female, diabetic, HIV positive, any allergies, any prescribed medication and your blood group [which often the GPs notes don't have on record any way] and your religion etc. etc. Besides, if a vet can diagnose and treat a sick animal with no more information than 'he seems' unwell then why can't the NHS doctors do the same for us.
We as patients will be able to opt out of this 'secure' form of electronic note keeping. But we have to opt out - they will not ask us our permission first.
I have heard that many doctors, solicitors[?!] and IT people involved in setting up the system refuse to have their health records on the central electronic system. What do they know that we should also know? If the professional people involved in setting up the system don't want to use it - then do we want to? Although it is touted as 'safe and secure' - remember it was only a few weeks ago that 1000s of doctors personal private details were 'inadvertently' released on to the Internet for all to see.
Apparently patients will be able to 'correct' any mis-information. I have visions of anyone being able to log on and correct anyones incorrect diagnosis just like an NHS version of Wikipedia. I read today that the BMA intend to call for an urgent public inquiry into the controversial scheme.

Update: if you do wish to opt out of this controversial scheme then there is a web site dedicated to this project with a downloadable opt out form - do email this to friends who may like to know about this latest intrusion into our privacy etc.