Shielded Patient List

NHS Digital has published the Shielded Patient List (SPL), which is enabling partner organisations across government to support and protect those who need shielding at this time.

View our Shielded Patient List dashboard to see open data about the Shielded Patient List, and how it has been used.

Overview

The Shielded Patient List (SPL) is a record of vulnerable patients thought to be at high risk of complications from COVID-19. NHS and social care organisations use the list to identify vulnerable patients in their local area. Once identified, these patients are sent a letter with advice on how to protect themselves and how to access NHS services when required.

The SPL consists of a methodology and associated ruleset, a publication, and our dissemination of the data.

Guidance for adults, children and young people

What the Shielded Patient List means for those who think they, or their child, may be at high-risk of complications from coronavirus along with common questions about the list.

Read the guidance

How the SPL works

Risk criteria

A set of criteria has been devised to determine whether a patient may be at high, moderate or low risk of complications.

View the risk criteria

Methodology

We have published the detailed methodology for the Shielded Patient List.

View our methodology

Timings

How information flows between systems, and how long this takes, to populate the NHS Shielded Patient List.

View timings for information flows

Known issues

We are aware of, and have documented, the following issues with the SPL.

View known issues

Publication

An updated NHS SPL will be generated weekly by NHS Digital, incorporating additional patient data provided by acute Trusts and GP practices. Each list will be based on the latest version of the SPL clinical methodology at that time.

Questions about the SPL publication process should be directed to: SPLQuery@nhs.net

Full details can be found on our timings for information flows between systems page.

Dissemination of the Shielded Patient List

The Shielded Patient List is only sent to recipients under data sharing terms of release, and is subject to information governance controls. We openly publish recipients of the list on our website.

Learn who receives the list

How we use your personal data

Transparency notice

Version 4: February 2021. We process users' personal data in order to provide the Shielded Patient List for people at high clinical risk from coronavirus. This notice outlines what data is collected, how it is processed, and what we do with it.

How we use your personal data

Data quality

The currency and accuracy of the data NHS Digital collects from and on behalf of the health and care system is important to the Shielded Patient List.

How we validate your information

Tracking healthcare activity and outcomes for Shielded Patients, England

This publication considers data relating to emergency admissions, mortality and positive COVID-19 tests for a subset of patients on the English SPL compared with an age-matched sample of the general population. The open data file includes the underlying counts and rates to allow for analysis, modelling and planning to take place to aid the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

ARTICLE

[MI] Tracking Healthcare Activity and Outcomes for Shielded Patients, England

Further information

Coronavirus Shielded Patient List open data set, England

The coronavirus (COVID-19) shielded patient list is enabling partner organisations across government to support and protect those who need shielding at this time. This data shows open data about the Shielded Patient List, and how it has been used.

Easy read versions of key communications for clinically extremely vulnerable patients

Guidance for patients with easy read templates available to download.

Shielded Patient List: History

A brief history of the development of the Shielded Patient List (SPL), from its initiation in March 2020 through to reaching a steady state in May 2020.

COVID-19 Population Risk Assessment

We've used the University of Oxford’s QCovid® risk prediction model to identify additional people to be added to the Shielded Patient List (SPL).

Last edited: 5 May 2021 11:15 am