News
The latest news from NHS Digital.
NHS Digital cyber team wins prestigious data security award
NHS Digital has won the Data and Information Security Award at the Public Sector Paperless Awards for the Data and Security Protection Toolkit (DSPT).
Talking therapies: New statistics show an increase in referrals, numbers starting treatment and recovery rates during 2018-19
1.60m referrals were made to talking therapies for anxiety and depression in England during 2018-19 – up 11.4% from the previous year (1.44m in 2017-18).
NHS Digital commercial and HSCN teams win prestigious innovation award
NHS Digital won the Innovation Award at the Yorkshire and Humber Skills and Development Network Commercial Awards for the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN), which has saved the NHS almost £50m per year.
Around 1.8m fewer adult smokers in England in 2018 compared with seven years ago
The number of adult cigarette smokers1 in England has dropped by around 1.8m from 7.7m2 (19.8%) in 20113 to 5.9m (14.4%) in 2018, new official figures show.
NHS Digital chief executive listed in 100 most influential women in UK India relations
NHS Digital’s chief executive Sarah Wilkinson has been named in the top 100 most influential women in UK India relations.
Embrace the NHS App as part of your practice’s digital toolbox
Southampton-based GP and NHS Digital Interim Chief Medical Officer, Amir Mehrkar, urges his fellow GPs to embrace the NHS App as another digital tool to help their practices.
Increase in adult carers feeling stressed or depressed
60.6% of carers reported feeling stressed in 2018-19 (up from 58.7% in 2016-17)2, according to a survey of 50,800 adult carers in England, published today by NHS Digital.
NHS Digital scoops Digital Leaders 100 award
NHS Digital scooped a top innovation award at the Digital Leaders 100 awards last night.
Quicker access to the Summary Care Record for community pharmacies
Pharmacists can now access vital patient information quickly and simply through a new Summary Care Record (SCR) 1-click function.
Figures published on surplus land in the NHS estate
NHS Surplus Land 2018/19 includes information on land and buildings which have been sold by the NHS, and land which has been retained but developed for housing.
Apps Library assessment portal launches
A digital assessment portal which will streamline and improve the process for developers seeking to have their app included on the NHS Apps Library has launched.
NHS WiFi now available to millions of patients
Free NHS WiFi is now available in 6,749 GP practices and 212 acute, mental health and community NHS Trusts across England, benefitting millions of patients.
Child safeguarding system reaches 100 per cent roll-out in London
The Child Protection Information Sharing (CP-IS) system has reached 100% coverage in London for the first time, flagging young patients arriving at unscheduled healthcare settings to their social workers.
Health Secretary: Ambitious tech overhaul will make NHS most advanced health and care system in the world
Top technology companies will be challenged to develop new, innovative GP IT systems to empower patients to access more health services online and through their phones, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announces today .
Invitation to Tender launched for GP IT Futures programme
NHS Digital has issued an invitation to tender for existing and new suppliers to deliver a new IT systems framework for primary care.
Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI) is updated
The SHMI reports on mortality at trust level across the NHS in England. Methodological changes will be made from today’s publication.
NHS 111 online hits one million triages mark
NHS 111 online has been used more than one million times to get people the medical help they need since its launch in December 2017.
NHS Digital reaches agreement to offer NHS organisations discounted access to cloud services
NHS Digital has reached an agreement with software firm VMware to provide NHS organisations with discounted access to VWware Cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
NHS Digital chief nurse calls on nurses and midwives to continue to take the lead on digital revolution
To mark International Nurses’ Day NHS Digital’s acting chief nurse, Caron Swinscoe, talks about how small technological and information sharing advances have the chance to make a real difference to nurses and midwives on the frontline and the patients they care for.
NHS Fit Notes report allows for regional comparisons to be made for the first time
Coverage in NHS Digital’s latest fit notes publication has increased to include data from 96% of GP practices.
711,000 hospital admissions where obesity was a factor in 2017/18
Admissions to NHS hospitals, where obesity was recorded as either a primary or secondary diagnosis1, increased by 15% (94,000) on 2016/172.
NHS Digital welcomes RCGP tech manifesto
NHS Digital has welcomed the publishing of the RCGP’s tech manifesto today.
Digital health hub rolled out across more areas following pilot success
A digital health hub piloted in Nailsea has proved to be such a success that the NHS is scaling it up across England, as demand increases from councils in North West London, the Wirral, Blackburn, Middlesbrough and Stafford.
New venue supports partnership working to drive innovation in health and care
As part of the Leeds Digital Festival, today sees the official opening of Co>Space North; a new health and care collaboration, co-working and innovation space in Leeds city centre.
Ambulance clinicians to access patient information on the move, without a Smartcard
Today the London Ambulance Service begins a pilot to enable its clinicians to securely access Summary Care Record data on an iPad, without the need for a smartcard or N3, for the first time, by using the new NHS Identity Service to authenticate to the system.
NHS Digital deal offers NHS organisations better insight into system data
NHS Digital has agreed a deal that will allow NHS organisations to make better use of their machine generated information through a market-leading data monitoring and analytics platform.
NHS staff and parents to gain access to crucial child health information
NHS Digital and NHS England collaborate with IT suppliers to launch groundbreaking new service
NHS Digital programmes nominated for digital award
NHS Digital’s Digital Delivery Centre has been nominated for a DigiLeaders 100 award for its work on the National Record Locator and NHS 111 online.
£4.8m available to scale up local digital adult social care projects
Organisations that provide and commission adult social care services are invited to bid for a share of £4.8m to enable them to roll out their local digital projects on a wider scale.
Prescription Cost Analysis report published
The cost of prescriptions dispensed in the community and the number of items dispensed during the 2018 calendar year has been published today by NHS Digital.
Emergency readmissions published for first time in five years
New experimental statistics have been released by NHS Digital, showing emergency readmissions for hospitals in England between 2013/14 and 2017/18.
NHS technologists urged to be part of NHS Digital sustainability forum
NHS Digital is calling on providers and stakeholders to join a working group looking at developing a sustainable tech workstream for the NHS, as the NHS marks its annual Sustainability Day on 21 March.
Daniel Ray is named second in data 100 power list
NHS Digital’s Daniel Ray has been named the second most influential data and analytics practitioner in the UK by dataIQ’s top 100 list.
International Women’s Day analysis: The role of women in the NHS in England
Women account for more than three quarters of the NHS workforce in England, according to NHS Digital statistics published today on International Women's Day.
Pharmacies now able to dispense controlled drugs via Electronic Prescription Service
Following successful testing, NHS Digital is rolling out Schedule 2 and 3 Controlled Drugs (CDs) via the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).
Proportion of women taking up breast screening invitations falls
The proportion of women aged 50-70 taking up routine breast screening invitations fell to 70.5% in 2017-18, down from 71.1% in 2016-17 and from 73.2% in 2007-08. The acceptable level of uptake is 70 per cent.
New statistics on England’s social care workforce published
NHS Digital has today published its latest annual report on components of the social care workforce in England.
NHS login launches pilot to develop the service for future users
Five organisations support NHS login as part of a small-scale pilot from March 2019.
338,000 admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol in 2017/18
There were 338,000 admissions to hospital in 2017/18 where the main cause was due to drinking alcohol, according to new figures published today.
Data Security and Protection Toolkit helps care providers get online with NHSmail
Care providers can now gain access to NHSmail, once they have completed the entry level of the online Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT), NHS Digital has announced.
More than £1m available for innovative digital social care projects
Local authorities developing digital social care projects to be boosted by Social Care Digital Innovation Programme (SCDIP) funding.
Digital inclusion project brings healthcare technology to the homeless
Homeless and insecurely housed people in Hastings now have access to medical treatment and support thanks to an innovative digital health care outreach project.
Annual learning disabilities statistics released
24 January 2019: Annual figures on the health and care of people with learning disabilities have been released by NHS Digital.
Leeds first city to fully join up with GP Connect
NHS Digital has taken a major step on the road to ensuring clinicians have access to patients’ GP records right across Leeds.
GP appointments data published
The second monthly GP appointments publication has been released, covering figures for November 2018.
NHS Digital chief executive welcomes focus on technology in Long Term Plan
NHS Digital's chief executive, Sarah Wilkinson, has welcomed the focused on digital technology in the NHS Long Term Plan published today.
NHS payments to General Practice report published
The NHS Payments to General Practice, England, 2017/18 report has been published today by NHS Digital.
NHS e-Referral Service makes its 100 millionth online booking
The NHS e-Referral Service has hit 100 million bookings since it was launched in 2005 as the NHS Choose and Book Service.
NHS Spine reaches one billion monthly transactions
The NHS Spine, which supports the IT infrastructure for over 500,000 health and social care workers in England, has reached the milestone of one billion transactions in a month for the first time.
Insight into digital uptake in maternity services aims to bring benefits of technology to mums
A new report shows for the first time how digitally ‘savvy’ maternity services in England are – and aims to drive up the better use of technology.
GP appointments data published
NHS Digital has published data to inform users about GP appointments and help show how primary care is affected by seasonal variation.
Health survey reveals association between parent and child obesity
Children of obese parents are more likely to be obese themselves than children whose parents are not overweight or obese, according to NHS Digital figures released today.
New UK Health Data Research Alliance to boost medical research and improve future health and care
An exciting new alliance will bring the UK’s leading academics together with forward thinking health data specialists, to develop new ways to design and support the medical research of the future, to improve the care patients receive from the NHS.
Update: NHSmail restored to all users
We can confirm that all accounts identified as having been locked out as a result of multiple login attempts were unlocked by 10.30pm last night.
Update: Access to NHSmail restored
All users should now have their access to NHSmail restored after problems with availability today, caused by a software issue in the supplier’s internal infrastructure.
Update: Severity 1 national outage on NHSmail
We have been working hard to fix the issues NHSmail has been having today.
Severity 1 national outage on NHSmail
There is currently a severity 1 national outage on NHSmail. We are working with our supplier to resolve the service.
NHS Digital takes major step on road to universal electronic prescriptions
NHS Digital has launched a pilot that could see more than 95% of GP prescriptions processed electronically, saving the NHS time and money.
New cervical screening figures released
NHS Digital has published their latest report on cervical screening coverage for 2017-2018.
One in eight of five to 19 year olds had a mental disorder in 2017 major new survey finds
One in eight (12.8%) of children and young people aged between five and 19, surveyed in England in 2017, had a mental disorder1 according to a major new report which provides England’s best source of data on trends in child mental health.
New standard to improve information sharing between community pharmacies and GP practices
A new standard that will improve sharing clinical information between community pharmacies and GP practices has been published.
More than half of patients who finished psychological therapy recovered in 2017-18
A total of 50.8% of courses of treatment for anxiety and depression ended in a patient’s recovery in 2017-18, new statistics from NHS Digital reveal.
Nine councils awarded funding to use digital innovation to create social care of the future
Biometric devices measuring anxiety triggers for people with autism and exoskeleton devices for carers are among nine social care digitisation projects to receive extra funding from NHS Digital and the Local Government Association.
Information about number of breast implant surgeries revealed in new report
A registry designed to safeguard the health of patients undergoing breast implant surgery now contains details of 20,665 operations.
NHS Digital funding to help adult social care provider sector build a digital future
NHS Digital has awarded £784,000 to the members of the Care Provider Alliance to deliver a new sector-led service which will offer digital support for social care providers.
Latest figures published on prescribing for diabetes
NHS Digital has today published its latest annual Prescribing for Diabetes: England 2007/08 to 2017/18 report.
More women attend for breast screening thanks to success of digital inclusion project
An NHS project using social media to improve health by boosting digital inclusion has led to a 13 per cent increase in first time attendances for breast screening in Stoke-on-Trent over four years.
Annual report on GP activity in England published
Figures showing the prevalence of 21 conditions, including asthma, hypertension, dementia, diabetes, and depression are published today by NHS Digital.
Rise in proportion of induced labours, new maternity figures show
The proportion of pregnant women having labour induced has increased by 2.2 percentage points1 over the past year, newly-published maternity data from NHS Digital reveals.
Local authorities receive 5,100 new requests for adult social care assistance a day
New figures from NHS Digital show that local authorities received 1.8 million new requests for adult social care support in 2017-18, an increase of 1.6 per cent on 2016-17 and equivalent to 5,100 new requests per day.
Health Secretary: My tech vision will help build most advanced health and care system in the world
Outdated and obstructive NHS IT systems will become a thing of the past, Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has said as he launches his technology vision today.
20.1 per cent of 10 to 11 year olds and 9.5 per cent of 4 to 5 year olds are obese
The prevalence of obesity has increased in Year 6 schoolchildren from 20.0 per cent in 2016/17 to 20.1 per cent in 2017/18, according to official statistics published by NHS Digital today. This equates to 116,000 children being obese in 2017/182.
Partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital for new technology innovation centre announced
A new technology innovation centre will open later today at Great Ormond Street Hospital, with backing from us and several technology companies, to transform the use of technology including artificial intelligence in healthcare and improve patient outcomes.
New interactive online data tool provides easier access to mental health statistics
National mental health statistics that shed new light on care and treatment for patients are now available at the click of a mouse thanks to the latest interactive data hub created by NHS Digital.
NHS Digital welcomes funding for joint project with MHRA on creating synthetic devices
NHS Digital’s deputy chief executive has welcomed news that the government has awarded funding for a project which will see us work with MHRA in developing synthetic datasets.
1.4 percentage point increase in people paying for some of their social care
The proportion of people receiving council funded or managed care, who report that they or their family pay for some of their care and support has risen from 35.3 per cent in 2016/17 to 36.7 per cent in 2017/18, according to figures released by NHS Digital.
Leeds is the first city to go live with GP Connect
GP practices and clinical staff can share and view authorised information and data between IT systems, quickly and efficiently, using GP Connect.
Sarah Wilkinson delivers keynote speech at UK Health Show
28 September 2018: NHS Digital CEO, Sarah Wilkinson, told clinicians and senior health leaders how a ‘new wave of data’ offers huge advantages to the health and care sector, in a keynote speech at the UK Health Show this week.
NHS Digital has today published national statistics about activity at sexual and reproductive health services in 2017-18
Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, England 2017-18
New care and support guide released on the NHS website
27 September 2018: A new guide to social care and support has been released on the NHS website, to provide guidance to people who may need social care, their families and carers.
NHS Digital announces new Chief Information Security Officer
NHS Digital’s new Chief Information Security Officer will start with the organisation on 1 October 2018.
Eighteen local partnerships design adult social care services of the future with £1.4m funding
20 September 2018: New funding will demonstrate how predictive analytics and digital information sharing can improve care and support for people needing social care services.
Hospital admission statistics published
Statistics on NHS admissions into hospitals in England have been published today by NHS Digital.
Coverage declines in nine of the 12 routine child vaccinations and increases in one
Figures published today show that coverage declined for nine of the 12 routine vaccinations measured at age 12 months, 24 months or five years in 2017-18 in England compared to the previous year.
A&E attendances increase by 22 per cent in the last decade
There were 23.8 million attendances to Accident and Emergency departments in England during 2017-18, which is an increase of two per cent compared with 2016-17 and 22 per cent since 2008-09, according to official figures.
New professional information standard for digital maternity records published
A new standard has been published to support digital maternity records that will ensure that record information is consistent and can be shared more easily across healthcare services in England in the future.
Written complaints rise for GP and dental practices but fall for hospitals and community health services
The NHS in England reported receiving 208,626 written complaints during 2017-18 – 0.1 per cent more than the previous year, figures published today show
100 per cent of trusts switched over to e-Referral Service
All acute hospital trusts across England have successfully switched to electronic referrals for first outpatient appointments – almost a month ahead of schedule.
Call for secondary schools to take part in survey of young people’s smoking, drinking and drug use
Secondary schools across England are being asked to volunteer to take part in a statistical survey that will act as a barometer for young people’s alcohol, nicotine and drug use.
Survey findings released showing primary care dentists' morale, motivation and working patterns
Findings show that nearly two thirds of principal dentists and over half of associate dentists have said that they ‘often think about leaving general dental practice’, according to figures released today by NHS Digital.
NHS workforce increases by 1.6 percent in a year
The total number of Full Time Equivalents (FTE) employed by the NHS increased by nearly 19,800 between March 2017 and March 2018, new figures3 from NHS Digital show.
North leads the way in ditching paper for hospital appointments
All acute hospital trusts across the north of England have successfully switched to receiving 100% of referrals for first outpatient appointments through the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS).
Widening Digital Participation Programme helps patients improve their health
Two pilot projects are proving that digital technology helps people to better manage their health.
Quality of healthcare premises is captured in latest patient-led assessments
16 August 2018: Annual patient-led assessments of non-clinical elements of care such as food and waiting areas have been published by NHS Digital today
Creating a new IT ecosystem for General Practice
13 August 2018: NHS Digital launches engagement opportunity for supplier community
Every GP practice across London successfully makes switch to Electronic Prescription Service
6 August: GP practices across London have successfully made the switch to using the Electronic Prescription Service – saving hours of GPs’, pharmacists’ and patients’ time every day.