ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the scope to cover the human rights act 1998, the sex discrimination act 1986, the employment rights act 1996, the maternity and parental leave, etc. As part of a government directive, all GP practices should be connected to NHSnet, a private wide area network service used by the NHS. There are plans for health records to be networked, allowing doctors 24-hour access. This inevitably raises data protection issues, as addressed in the Caldicott report commissioned in 1997. At whatever speed things are implemented, the systems used need to have been thought through in terms of confidentiality (patient and doctor), data protection and litigation issues. They also need to be quick, user-friendly and accurate.
