A controversial project aiming to give patients access to their GP records has been halted amid concerns that practices are not ready.

The British Medical Association has been urging practices to opt out of the scheme and yesterday it announced that NHS England has agreed to delay its roll-out, due today. The BMA said many practices had said they could not roll out the programme in “a safe way” and were concerned about data protection.

Under the project, known as Citizens’ Access, patients would be able to access their GP records through the NHS app. The BMA said it was concerned that the app might give access to the records of vulnerable patients, such as those living with an abusive partner. It said it would be working with NHS England to ensure the project met its safety concerns.
It said that practices that have not opted out, still have time to do so now. If practices choose to go ahead with the upload of records, they will be contacted by their system supplier to discuss when the project would go live.

Dr David Wrigley, deputy chair of the BMA’s GP committee in England, said: “We’re pleased to hear that NHS England has decided to review the pace and timing of the automatic, mass roll-out of the Citizens’ Access programme. This is, without doubt, the right thing to do for patient safety.

“We want patients to be able to access their GP medical records, but this must be done carefully, with the appropriate safeguards in place to protect them from any potential harm. The deadline of November 30th was, for many practices, just too soon to do this, and removing it will come as a huge relief to GPs and their teams across the country. We’re pleased that our members’ concerns have been listened to and are open to working with NHS England to revise the programme accordingly to find a way forward that works for everyone.”