FRIDAY JANUARY 11 2002

The MMR vaccine

FROM DR RICHARD NICHOLSON

Sir, There is a particular hypocrisy in ministers using the shield of medical confidentiality to avoid saying whether their children have had the MMR vaccine (letters, December 28; January 2 and 5). Just before the general election last May, they rushed through the Health and Social Care Act, which effectively destroys medical confidentiality in the NHS. Section 60 gives the Secretary of State power to have identifiable patient information disclosed to whomever he wishes, if it is in the public interest.

So ministers want to be able to override the confidentiality of other people’s medical records whenever it suits them, but to retain the confidentiality even of non-sensitive parts of their children’s records. Since childhood vaccination is not a unique experience, but one that almost all children have, information on it is not sensitive in the same way as the records of individual illnesses.

Moreover, it is in the public interest to know whether ministers believe their own propaganda about the complete safety of MMR, on which many millions of pounds have been spent, since they are expected to provide leadership. Their reluctance to say whether their children have had MMR inevitably leads to the suspicion that they have not, and acts against the public interest by discouraging other parents.

Yours sincerely,
RICHARD NICHOLSON
(Editor), Bulletin of Medical Ethics,
22 Highbury Grove, N5 2EA.
bullmedeth@cs.com
January 8.

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