The research showed that a majority (87%) of UK consumers found keeping NHS patient data in the UK important, while over half (56%) are against the use of AI to analyse it, even if it leads to better care.

The findings come in the aftermath of multiple NHS data breaches, which have seen a massive supply chain attack, a targeted breach against patients accessing HIV services, as well as a recent cyber attack by the notorious BlackCat cybercriminal group. 

Despite this, confidence in the NHS remains relatively high, with 59% of respondents saying they trust the NHS to keep their data safe. The research, run by VMware, involved 2,000 citizens, looking into the prevailing security concerns about their private medical data. 

It found that of the majority who believe keeping NHS data in the UK is the safest option, 39% said so because they believe this would ensure compliance with UK privacy regulations, while 22% cite a lack of confidence in other countries. Only 21% believed that domestic data storage would thwart foreign cyber threats. 

Currently, numerous NHS and social care providers use non-national public clouds, which means patient data is hosted by providers deemed adequate by UK standards. However, if these providers are not based in the UK, the data may be subject to external jurisdictional control.

“These findings demonstrate the increasing importance of data integrity and sovereignty in helping the NHS, among other highly regulated industries, realise and unlock the true value of their sensitive and critical data, “ said Guy Bartram, Cloud Evangelist at VMware. “By embracing cloud sovereignty, the NHS can build public trust and assertively maintain governance, fortify data protection and help unlock the true value of critical and sensitive patient data in delivering patient services.”

The report draws links between the push for cloud sovereignty and new AI frameworks for healthcare data analysis. According to the report, sovereign clouds could serve as a pivotal enabler in allowing the NHS to drive progress in the field. 

However, the respondents were a mixed bag on the use of AI in healthcare. 45% were open to its implementation, while 25% expressed opposition to AI processing their data. 

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Dr Will Venters, associate professor of Information Systems, London School of Economics said: “Ongoing digital transformation and the increased use of emerging technologies such as AI, have spurred both excitement for true innovation to revolutionise our NHS, but also a new urgency for how this boom in data will be securely managed and stored.” 

“With the increased use of multiple clouds to create, store and distribute apps – apps which the NHS needs relies on from front-line clinicians through to optimising operations – it is essential to patient trust that the NHS protects sensitive patient data, and this can be achieved by protecting it with sovereign clouds. AI has created new data opportunities so it is critical the NHS can make better use of its data, to build a resilient and patient-centric healthcare system that the UK needs.”