The British Medical Association’s GP committee, led by Dr Katie Bramall‑Stainer, warned that the government’s push for a Single Patient Record (SPR) could erode trust in family doctors. If legal data control shifts from GPs to politicians, patients may opt out of sharing their records, according to the union ahead of upcoming legislation in Wednesday.

Under the SPR plan, GP surgeries, hospitals and other care settings will exchange data to create a patient passport, ministers say will improve coordination and grant clinicians instant access to notes that still exist on paper. The BMA questions how GP data will flow into the new system and what safeguards will prevent political misuse.

Bramall‑Stainer cites a recent breach where half a million UK volunteers’ medical records appeared on a Chinese Alibaba‑owned site, arguing that the SPR could open a “Pandora’s Box” if data responsibilities are transferred. She warned that once data are centralized, retrieval becomes impossible and future misuse could create a dystopian scenario for patients and care.

Government officials insist the SPR will integrate with existing GP IT systems, not replace them, and that GP‑held data will remain under doctors’ control. They argue the platform is designed to protect personal information and will not undermine patient confidentiality. The debate underscores the tension between digital health innovation and data sovereignty for 63 million patients in England.