A wide range of health and care organisations have shared public statements of support for the principles behind the Federated Data Platform, such as the opportunity to improve patient care and staff experience by linking and using data securely.

These statements are separate to the announcement of any particular supplier. 

Jacob Lant, Chief Executive at National Voices: “Modernising the way data moves around the NHS has the potential to rapidly improve both patient experiences and the overall efficiency of the service. And engagement with the public over the last decade has shown that people are on board with this idea as long as it is done safely, transparently and with clear concrete promises over who will and won’t have access to their medical records.

“The Federated Data Platform (FDP) will be an important tool in achieving this digital revolution. That’s why National Voices, alongside other patient groups and data experts, has been working with NHS England to make sure they understand people’s questions and concerns. NHS colleagues have responded with important clarifications such as confirming the independently developed Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PET) will be in place before any data begins to flow through the FDP, and providing assurances that the supplier will only ever access to operational data when approved and strictly supervised by the NHS.

“Crucially, the conversation doesn’t stop here. I have been asked to chair the independent Check and Challenge group to continue to help NHS England understand and respond to the questions and comments coming in through the new information portal, and to help create a culture of ongoing public engagement around how the NHS makes the best and fair use of data to transform care”.

Dr Jeanette Dickson, Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said: “We saw first-hand over the pandemic that the effective use of data driven healthcare can transform the way we deliver patient care and improve clinical efficiency. The Academy has long identified the importance of using data and technology better, to boost clinical capacity and improve patient care.

“This is why the development of a federated data platform for the NHS is very welcome, provided it handles data in the promised safe and secure manner.  Clinically led pilots suggest we have much to gain by fully embracing the platform’s potential to help link data better for elective recovery and care coordination.

“So with the proper checks and balances in place, we see no reason why not to press ahead with this exciting development”.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Health leaders will welcome the introduction of the federated data platform (FDP) as an important tool to help organisations across the NHS more rapidly connect and access data, free up vital clinical time and deliver more efficient, faster and safe care for patients.

“For the platform to succeed, it will also be crucial that the public continue to be engaged with, and that any concerns they have on the sharing of their data are addressed meaningfully. Likewise, Government and the wider NHS will need to ensure that there are adequate numbers of staff working in digital and patient data roles.

“We hope the new platform will offer much needed capacity for many Integrated Care Systems and for those systems that have already built their own effective platforms, we welcome both the assurance that they will be able to decide if and when to opt into it, and that they will continue to be supported”.

Mr Tim Mitchell, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England said: “Every day trainees and consultants are delivering care to patients and working incredibly hard to reduce the long waiting lists. We know that data systems are currently fragmented across NHS Trusts, making it challenging to connect and share information and resulting in surgeons spending time chasing referrals, scheduling appointments, and waiting for test results.

“We welcome the development of a Federated Data Platform which will enable NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Systems to bring together operational data, currently stored in separate systems. This will support staff to access the information they need – in one place. It is essential that proper checks and balances are in place to ensure patient data is secure at all times”.

Dr Adrian Boyle, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “We are generally supportive of the principles behind a clinically led Federated Data Platform. Better data integration is something that the NHS clearly needs, and managing patient data more effectively, with necessary safeguards, stands to be of great benefit to both patients and staff.

“In particular, we are pleased that we have been assured that licensing provision has been made for the ambulance service, NHS 111 and Mental Health trusts as these areas are traditionally very poorly integrated with acute hospitals.  RCEM looks forward to supporting the development of future use cases including flow through emergency care”. 

Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers said: “NHS Providers acknowledges the potential of improved data-sharing, that is safe and secure, to transform services for patients and improve trusts’ planning and day-to-day operational management.

“It is important that trust and system leaders maintain the ability to make decisions about technology based on local needs, including choosing if and how to best use any national data-sharing platform.

“To make the most of the potential benefits – especially for those trusts who would benefit most from digital advances – it’s vital that already stretched providers and their partners get the extra resources and support they need to be able to implement large-scale data-sharing systems.”

Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, said: “Patients recognise how important their health records are to managing their care. They expect those records to be safeguarded and only accessible to the healthcare professionals who are treating them. Such access enables patient and healthcare professional to work together in partnership to make decisions about the patient’s care.

“We support the principles behind the Federated Data Platform, namely to provide access to health records for direct care safely and securely. But patients need full confidence in the NHS’s handling of their data, even while they know sharing health data has tangible benefits. For those reasons it is essential that NHS England’s planned public engagement programme on how patient data are used is candid and includes the perspectives of a wide range of communities”.

Healthwatch England chief executive Louise Ansari said: “Healthwatch England supports the aims of a federated data platform programme to be a patient care improvement tool through bringing together existing NHS data.

“In particular, we welcome the aspirations of the programme to tackle long waits by people for planned operations and outpatient appointments, improve the way patients are discharged from hospital and increase uptake of vaccinations.  People continually tell us that they want different parts of the NHS to get better at sharing their clinical information so they don’t shoulder the burden of having to repeatedly tell their story to clinicians and admin teams.

“The success of any new IT programme in the NHS relies on high public confidence in the ethical use of data, transparency over how their data will be used and in what circumstances they can opt out of data sharing. The public also needs strong assurances that their data will be protected, as our past surveys show that NHS IT security breaches can severely reduce public confidence.

“That’s why ongoing engagement with the public will be vital as the FDP programme is rolled out, to ensure their views, concerns or experiences of data use can inform implementation at local, regional and national level”.

Dr Camilla Kingdon, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said: “Paediatricians know how important high-quality data and information is to improve children’s health and deliver quality services. Yet all too often they experience fragmented systems that create unnecessary barriers to accessing and sharing information rather than enabling them to deliver the best, holistic care to children and young people. The Federated Data Platform is a positive first step that will enable NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Systems to bring together operational data that is currently stored in separate applications. While we support the principle of this work, the College is clear that there must be robust processes in place to ensure that all data remain secure and usable within the NHS only.

“There is also a clear need for additional work to improve paediatricians’ ability to capture the needs of patients at the point of care, and to significantly improve data sharing between primary and secondary care and between health and education. This further work is vital for clinicians to fully identify and meet children’s health and safeguarding needs”.

Will Warburton, Managing Director, The Shelford Group said: “The insights that NHS trusts and clinicians gain from high quality data can facilitate better and faster care. As ten of the largest teaching and research NHS trusts in England, Shelford members fully support the principle of sharing data – securely, privately, and for appropriate use – to ensure the safety and co-ordination of patient care, and to improve the efficiency and delivery of services. A federated data platform is a potentially valuable contribution to achieving these goals.”

Integrated care board leaders’ statement of support for the Federated Data Platform

As integrated care board leaders, we know how important it is for our patients and staff that the NHS is able to connect the data we already hold and provide better quality patient care.

We welcome upfront investment in the Federated Data Platform which will help to connect separate sets of data and join the dots for our patients,  our local populations and builds on what we are doing locally.

It will support the transformation of healthcare, by optimising efficiency, empowering clinicians and patients, enhancing data security and improving patient outcomes.

Integrated care board leaders’ statement of support for the Federated Data Platform

As integrated care board leaders, we know how important it is for our patients and staff that the NHS is able to connect the data we already hold and provide better quality patient care.  We welcome upfront investment in the Federated Data Platform which will help to connect separate sets of data and join the dots for our patients,  our local populations and builds on what we are doing locally.

It will support the transformation of healthcare, by optimising efficiency, empowering clinicians and patients, enhancing data security and improving patient outcomes.