The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital will start storing confidential patient data on the cloud for the next two years, under an NHS project to move records to the internet from computer hard-drives.

The move will allow doctors to access patients’ records from anywhere in the world through internet. However, some have also raised concerns bout the safety of the data on the online due to the threats from hackers.

NHS could gain in terms of cost savings in the long run if all the data is stored on the cloud. The initial cost of moving to the cloud will be about £11.7billion. It is believed that the patients will have control over who can access the information.

The technology for the initiative has "massive implications for the future of patient treatment in the UK," according to Tony Lucas, the founder of Flexiant computer firm which his behind the scheme. “For the first time patients can have control over their treatment and their records and that is enormously empowering,” he said.

The project is being funded by the Technology Strategy Board and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.