DOCTORS across Worcestershire may revolt over confidential patient information going on an NHS database following other damaging security leaks.

Dr Simon Parkinson, medical secretary of the Local Medical Committee for Worcestershire, is worried trust between doctors and patients could break down if their personal details go on the database following a series of embarrassing nationwide security lapses.

Patients in the county have also chosen to opt out of the NHS "spine" since computer discs holding personal information on 25 million people and 7.2 million families were lost.

Patient information has also been lost by nine NHS trusts and details of three million learner drivers by a DVLA contractor.

Dr Parkinson, who helps represent the interests of 488 GPs across the county, said there was an issue of consent if patient details had gone on the NHS spine database without their approval and of how secure the information would be. While he did not want to speak on behalf of other doctors, he said there was a very real risk of a revolt from GPs if the Government did not provide more reassurance the information was secure.

He said: "The worry is that if people have no confidence in the IT they won't tell their doctors things. It's a big worry that trust will breakdown. Patients won't feel the confidentiality is there. That will be a massive loss to us. The trust patients have in us is at the core of how we work."

A retired security chief from Worcester is one of 200,000 people to opt out of the NHS database. Former NATO security director Brian Gladman, 61, a member of NO2ID (Worcestershire), said he would be campaigning to make sure that everyone in Worcester was aware of their right to opt out of the £12 billion database programme.

An estimated 200,000 people have requested or downloaded documents allowing them to be excluded from the new national NHS database of patient records, says campaign group the Big Opt Out.

Activists from the British Medical Association have also produced a letter people can send to their GP to stop their records being put on the database.

The Government has argued that the current NHS records system, which relies predominantly on paper files can lead to unnecessary delays and risks.

Mike Foster, MP for Worcester, said the system has potentially huge benefits to patients who suffered health problems when away from their local area but that security had to be extremely tight to eliminate any human error.