I FEAR that David of Chepstow, in his letter in the Review seems to have missed the point of people's concern  regarding the "sharing of information" about their NHS medical treatment.

It is the sharing of this information with bodies outside the health service – many of which could be regarded as questionable – that has upset many, many people.

He  declares that "the purpose of releasing the data is to enable the quality of the NHS procedures to be improved through the analysis of the outcomes of various treatments." This could well be the official explanation – but are we to believe that within the NHS there is at present no circulation of general information about the success or otherwide of certain procedures or treatments?

That each hospital exists in a vacuum? Surely if its our health service, then already hospitals, surgeries, etc should be working together and sharing notes on specific treatments? If so there's surely no need to take this any further.

Personally I share the concerns of Steve Parry Hearn, and, as both an indiividual and a prospective Parliamentary candidate, he is right to raise them.

– Alistair Graham, Lydney.