NHS: Databases
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department is taking to ensure that Parliament is informed of material changes to data access arrangements under the NHS Federated Data Platform.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) safely connects information from different systems across the National Health Service into a single, secure environment. This allows staff to co-ordinate care better to improve outcomes for patients.
The NHS FDP is delivering for the NHS, helping people get the care they need quicker and more efficiently. Since March 2024, more than 100,000 additional patients have been supported to undergo procedures in theatres partly by increasing theatre utilisation. Nearly 94,000 people have been supported on their cancer journey, with 7% seeing a reduction in the time it took to diagnose their cancer. There has been a 14% decrease in delays discharging patients staying in hospital for more than seven days, freeing up beds for those who need them most. NHS England publishes quarterly information on the benefits realised from the FDP, which is available at the following link:
To date, 24 integrated care board clusters and 168 NHS trusts have signed up to the NHS FDP, including the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.
The NHS FDP operates under established NHS England governance and assurance arrangements, including oversight of how data is accessed and used.
Changes to data access arrangements are managed through these existing governance processes, including the review and approval of Data Protection Impact Assessments and other information governance documentation.
NHS England is committed to transparency and publishes information about its use of data and associated safeguards through its transparency materials, in line with legal and policy requirements.
Ministers and the Department are kept informed of the programme and any material developments through routine accountability and reporting mechanisms.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →