Organisational attendees

• National Voices
• Understanding Patient Data
• Royal College of General Practitioners
• NHS England
• Patients Association
• Office of the National Data Guardian
• East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• FDP Programme Team (NHS England)
• Nottingham University Hospitals
• Royal College of Surgeons
• Department of Health and Social Care
• Association of Medical Research Charities
• NHS Confederation
• British Medical Association

Apologies received

• Information Commissioner’s Office
• Academy of Medical Royal Colleges

Open actions

Meeting Minutes

Welcome and introductions

The Chair, Jacob Lant, opened the meeting.

Apologies were noted.

No conflicts/declarations of interests raised.

Minutes and actions from previous meeting

The group ratified and approved the minutes of the meeting held on Friday 21 October 2025.

In response to a query from a representative from the BMA, the FDP PMO team advised that the minutes from May to September 2025 would be published on the NHS England website on Thursday 29 November 2025.

ACTION: FDP PMO team to circulate link to published minutes on the website, once available.

Action log

The Chair confirmed that actions were up to date, with an NHS England lead who reports to the MHRA to attend a future meeting to discuss the use of AI within the NHS in the January 2026 meeting.

Revised Terms of Reference (ToR)

The Chair thanked the group for their contributions to the revised Terms of Reference and confirmed that the final version will be circulated after the meeting and published on the NHS England website.

The Chair advised that members were encouraged to raise concerns or issues either during meetings or confidentially and that the group would continue to commit to regular reviews of its agenda, scope, and structure to remain responsive to a changing environment.

ACTION: FDP PMO team to circulate the final version of the revised ToR.

FDP and PET Programme update

The Director of Data Management and Transformation presented an overview of the FDP and PET Programme.

A member from the Royal College of Surgeons requested further detail on the development approach for FDP products and whether the Programme was exploring wider agency involvement and collaborative delivery models.

In response, the Director of Data Management and Transformation explained that the FDP operated a mixed development model, with products developed by NHS England teams, local provider organisations and third party suppliers.

The Solution Exchange is intended to support a multi-vendor ecosystem, enabling both NHS and external organisations to contribute solutions, supported by a robust commercial strategy currently in development to manage third party relationships.

The group received an update on recent national announcements.

Both the Medium Term Planning Guidance and the Strategic Commissioning Framework reference the FDP and encourage its adoption and the use of its core products to maximise investment and reduce duplication across local NHS organisations.

The guidance clarifies that the “FDP first” policy applies to new or renewed investments, requiring organisations to consider FDP capabilities before alternative options, but it does not mandate the replacement of existing local systems.

For example, local organisations moving from on premises data warehouses to cloud solutions are advised to consider FDP, in line with cloud first policy.

The Chair requested further detail on FDP uptake in parts of the country.

It was noted that local pressures or organisations managing multiple digital transformation programmes concurrently were reasons why uptake had not initially been higher in some areas.

Some organisations had also sought greater clarity on the supplier’s role within the programme.

Following engagement and provision of further information, most had proceeded to sign up and subsequently recognised the benefits.

For example, Leeds and Manchester Foundation Trusts initially expressed hesitation but later became strong advocates after experiencing the value of the platform.

A member from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust advised that the Trust was preparing for FDP adoption, as the work on its major EPR programme was nearing completion, and commended the FDP team for the support provided during the preparatory phase.

The group received an update on the FDP product portfolio.

6 products were now generally available and deployed across 73 trusts and 41 ICBs, delivering measurable operational benefits.

A further 7 products were in advanced pilots and expected to be available by March 2026, with additional products in development through to 2026 and beyond.

A representative from the BMA queried how the 217,000 FDP reported waiting list removals aligned with Government statements that waiting lists had reduced by nearly 250,000.

The Director of Data Management and Transformation confirmed that FDP validated removals contributed to the national figures, with triangulation through national statistics.

 An approximate of 3.5% reduction in the elective waiting list this financial year, it was highlighted that movements reflect a combination of removals, completed treatments and new additions.

ACTION: The Chair referenced a relevant Nuffield Trust analysis and agreed to share it with the group, acknowledging that transparency on the drivers of waiting list reductions was essential.

 The group received and noted the update.

Communications and engagement update

The FDP Lead Senior Communications and Engagement Manager announced that the security focused FDP animation film had been published, with a second animation on the Crisis Response Tool (CRT) currently in development.

The FDP Comms team were also inviting volunteers from the group to participate in advocate filming and provide testimonials.

In addition, NHS England were working in collaboration with DHSC and NHS press offices on a planned media campaign highlighting the additional patients treated via the inpatients tool, supported by research from Imperial’s Global Health Digital Unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals.

Attention turned to an internal comms review on improving the publication of FDP benefits and uptake data on the NHS website.

The group noted that existing Freedom of Information (FOI) based public sources were often outdated and recommended publishing which Trusts had access to which products to improve accuracy and transparency.

Members supported greater openness and proposed the development of an interactive map or table to present the information in a clear and accessible format.

Regarding the development of the CRT animation, a representative from the NHS Confederation emphasised the importance of tailored communications for Mental Health and Community trusts, including the need for updated FAQs and clear implementation roadmaps.

The FDP Programme team supported this view, noting that the Transforming Operational Delivery (TOD) team was already actively engaging with these sectors.

Sixth use case update

The FDP Head of Information Governance (IG) updated the group on progress with the Sixth FDP use case, which supports NHS organisations to use the FDP for integration and statutory functions, including HR and staffing data and clustering arrangements.

The use case had been reviewed by the National Data Guardian, Information Commissioner’s Office and Data Governance Group.

Their feedback had been incorporated into the updated Data Protection Information Act (DPIA), which had completed two iterations.

The IG framework was now being revised and would be reviewed further.

The Head of IG emphasised that the new use case improves transparency and clarifies how FDP’s core capabilities are used for secondary purposes, with clear articulation in the DPIA and IG framework.

The IG framework is a living document, and the process was intentionally thorough and collaborative, involving user groups and stakeholders to ensure robust governance.

A member from East Kent Hospitals supported the addition, highlighting the operational need for staffing data to address cost and efficiency challenges.

The Chair highlighted the importance of communicating that the sixth use case is a response to system needs and that the IG process was dynamic and evidence based.

AI Assisted Discharge Summary (AADS) Tool update

The FDP Head of Information Governance provided an update on the progress of the AADS tool, which continues to be piloted at Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The team remains actively engaged with the National Data Guardian (NDG) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), who recently revisited the DPIA to address the challenges previously raised.

Further discussions with the MHRA are planned to support refinement of the DPIA.

Once the final version is complete, the Head of Information Governance agreed to circulate it to the group.

It was noted that the DPIA publication process will follow Freedom of Information (FOI) principles, with only minimal redaction (primarily staff names).

The group expressed interest in being involved in the review process, given earlier debate and the importance of maintaining transparency.

ACTION: To share the DPIA with the group once the review is complete.

Single Patient Record (SPR) update

The Strategy Lead for the SPR joined the meeting to provide an update on the SPR programme, outlining three main workstreams: development of the programme business case, the commercial strategy, and a technical options appraisal for delivering the SPR.

A representative from the Patients Association highlighted the importance of public trust and professional acceptability, emphasising that technical solutions must be acceptable to both the public and professionals, not solely technically robust.

In response, the Strategy Lead explained that the team has been undertaking a user[1]centred design discovery process, engaging with patients, the public, and clinicians to validate problem statements and identify gaps in current systems.

A member from East Kent Hospitals spoke about the importance of the involvement of data professionals and the adoption of common data standards, noting that Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and clinicians alone may not be able to address the data integration challenges.

Further engagement with Chief Digital Information Officer (CDIOs) was suggested.

In response to a query from a representative from the Office of the National Data Guardian, the Director of Data Management and Transformation outlined that the SPR programme operates through two main governance mechanisms: the Check and Challenge Group, which provides regular advisory input and scrutiny, and the Red Team, which offers ad hoc external scrutiny at key checkpoints in line with Governance Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) requirements.

The Check and Challenge Group would continue to serve as the primary forum for ongoing advice and scrutiny as the SPR programme progresses.

The Red Team provided targeted, independent review at specific stages, such as business case approval and procurement and brings together a broader group of experts to support robust decision making.

ACTION: The PMO Programme team agreed to bring a summary of the group memberships (by expertise, not individual names) to a future meeting for transparency and to ensure all relevant voices are represented.

The Chair acknowledged that the governance approach was still evolving but emphasised the need to maintain transparency, avoid duplication, and ensure robust representation of the necessary expertise.

Any other business and Close

A representative from the BMA raised a social media post made by the Chief Executive of Palantir and queried the estimated savings which had been quoted for the hospital discharge tool.

In discussing the source of this calculation, a representative from the Office of the National Data Guardian expressed a preference for such claims to be owned, validated, and published by NHS England.

The Chair advised the group that the next Data Transformation Check and Challenge meeting will be held on Friday 16 January 2026.

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