Introduction of new specialty and clinic types

NHS England is working towards the implementation of a standardised Directory of Services (DoS).

This strategic direction will ensure:

• a standardised naming convention
• closer alignment to Treatment Function Codes in the NHS Data Dictionary

The next e‑RS release will introduce new specialties and clinic types. These terms have been clinically reviewed with Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) clinical colleagues and other national clinical leads. 

This update will apply to both the web-based professional application and the FHIR API.

A separate service mapping tool is being introduced for service definers in the web-based professional application. This will enable existing services to be mapped to the new specialty and clinic types by 30 September 2026.

The Retrieve reference data endpoint (A004) will contain new specialties and clinic types.

Existing specialties and clinic types which are being replaced will contain an end date (30/09/2026) in the effectiveTo property.

New specialties and clinic types will contain a start date (01/10/2026) in the effectiveFrom property and won't become usable in the system until then.

Treatment function codes have also been added, in instances where they didn't exist before, or amended where appropriate to align with the NHS Data Dictionary.

For example:

We do not consider this a breaking change for the 23 June release.

Partners must ensure this enhancement does not negatively impact their software and that users are able to use the new reference data from 01 October 2026.

If you need further information, please contact us at [email protected]