More than half of acute trusts signed up to the NHS FDP

As of September 2024, more than half of acute trusts, 75 in total, have signed up to the NHS federated data platform (FDP), surpassing the initial target of 71 trusts by the end of the year, NHS England has confirmed. 

In an FDP programme update, published on 18 September 2024, Ayub Bhayat, director of data services and deputy chief data and analytics officer at NHSE, said the milestone was “testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams across the NHS since the platform’s launch in March” and marks “a significant step forward in transforming healthcare delivery and improving patient pathways”.

“By joining the NHS FDP, these trusts are gaining access to powerful tools that enable better data sharing, more efficient decision-making, and ultimately, improved patient care”.

The rollout of the platform, which enables hospitals to bring together information from different clinical and HR systems, has taken place in phases, with the “transition stage” of the programme now complete and focus switching to the “delivery phase”.

NHSE wrote to all trusts in England in July 2024, informing them that they must begin using the national platform and its analytic products within two years.

“As we move into the delivery phase, we remain committed to expanding the reach of the NHS FDP and our nationally commissioned local products to more NHS trusts and integrated care systems (ICBs).

“Our goal is to accelerate healthcare transformation across the country and deliver exceptional patient care,” Bhayat said.

In the FDP update, Jenny Dando, care coordination system (CCS) delivery manager at Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, said that the platform’s products are freeing up time for patient care at the trust.

“We save large amounts of time using the NHS FDP product Outpatient CCS.

“Our Referral to Treatment (RTT) validation team has freed up a day per week by using this product, which allows the team to review patient treatment lists in one place,” she said.

The update also said that the first rollout of products supporting the autumn/winter vaccination programme is now available on the NHS FDP, including tools to support supply chain, Covid-19 monitoring and publication dashboards, flu dashboards and reporting.

“By transitioning to the NHS FDP organisations can benefit from more accurate and near real-time data for strategic and operational planning due to increased functionality which allows teams to create dashboards and reports tailored to their specific needs,” it said.

Lord Ara Darzi’s independent investigation into the state of the NHS, published on 12 September 2024, which acknowledged the FDP as an example of significant NHS investments which “have great promise and have started to show some impact locally”.

NHSE awarded an £8.5 million contract to consultancy firm KPMG in April 2024 to promote the adoption of the FDP by trusts and ICBs.