NHS: Databases
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data and evaluation evidence NHS England relied upon when deciding to expand pilots of the Federated Data Platform beyond initial trusts.
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 boards clusters and 168 NHS trusts have signed up to the NHS FDP, including Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust.
NHS England’s decision to expand the NHS FDP beyond initial pilot sites was informed by operational data, structured assurance processes, and ongoing evaluation.
Products are deployed through a phased approach, including incubation, pilot, and general availability. Progression between these stages requires evidence that key milestones have been met, including clinical safety, information governance, technical performance, and benefits realisation.
Trusts participate on an opt-in basis, with onboarding aligned to local readiness, capacity, and strategic priorities. This ensures that implementation is locally owned and supported, with appropriate approval, engagement, resource planning, and organisational preparedness in place.
In parallel, the programme draws on a range of evaluation evidence, including analysis of product usage and outcome data, stakeholder feedback, and case studies from participating trusts to assess impact and effectiveness.
NHS England also publishes information on uptake and realised benefits from early adopter sites, including measurable improvements in operational workflows and patient care, which supports decisions on wider roll‑out. This is available on the NHS.UK website, at the following link:
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