New NHS software will be rolled out next year to deliver better joined-up care for millions of patients, help tackle waiting lists, and reduce hospital discharge delays.
The NHS software will combine existing healthcare data, making it easier for staff to access key information to provide improved and more timely patient care.
The new tool, known as the Federated Data Platform, will join up key information currently held in separate NHS systems to tackle some of the big challenges the health service faces from the pandemic.
NHS National Director for Transformation, Dr Vin Diwakar, explained: “Better use of data is essential for the NHS to tackle waiting times, join up patient care and make the health service sustainable for the future.
“This new tool provides a safe and secure environment to bring together data, which enables us to develop and deliver more responsive services for patients and will help the health service drive the recovery in elective care.”
How will the new NHS software work?
The new NHS software brings together real-time data, such as the number of beds in a hospital, the size of elective waiting lists, staff rosters, the availability of medical supplies, and social care places.
This will ensure staff can plan and maximise resources such as operating theatre and outpatient clinic time to ensure patients receive more timely care.
Following an open and competitive tender process, the contract to provide the NHS software has been awarded to a group led by Palantir Technologies UK, with support from Accenture, PwC, NECS, and Carnall Farrar.
The contract award will see investment over the course of seven years as more trusts join the platform. In the first contract year, investment is expected to be at least £25.6m.
Over the contractual period of seven years, there will be up to £330m investment in the Federated Data Platform and associated services.
No company involved in the Federated Data Platform can access health and care data without the explicit permission of the NHS.
All data within the platform is under the control of the NHS and will only be used for direct care and planning. It will not be used to access data for research purposes, and GP data will not feed into the national version of the software platform.
Pilot tests show the software will have a positive impact
Pilot projects using the new data-sharing approach have seen a drop in waiting times for planned care and in discharge delays and seen faster diagnosis and treatment times.
Since introducing the NHS software, North Tees and Hartlepool Trust has reduced long-term stays (21 days or more) by 36% despite increased demand, with 7.7% more patients being admitted to the hospital.
“We have already seen measurable positive impact that helped our team to maximise our resources for the benefit of patients,” said Jeffrey Ahmed, Consultant Gynaecologist Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where data-sharing has been piloted.
Separate to any particular supplier, a range of health and care organisations have shared public statements of support for the principles behind the Federated Data Platform including more joined up patient care and improved staff experience, and all 42 integrated care boards across England have backed the platform.
