National Back Office for the Personal Demographics Service
The National Back Office (NBO) provides a national data quality service.
It's responsible for the management of NHS Numbers and PDS records, investigation and resolution of data quality incidents on Personal Demographics Service (PDS) demographic records, and the provision of a Tracing Service to approved organisations.
COVID-19: Impact on NBO tracing service
The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the delivery of the NBO tracing service.
What we do
We're responsible for the:
- management of NHS Numbers and PDS records
- investigation and resolution of data quality incidents on PDS demographic records
- provision of a Tracing Service to approved organisations
Home Office tracing service
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Home Office, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Digital to process information requests for the purposes of tracing immigration offenders was suspended in May 2018 and fully withdrawn on 9 November 2018.
The Home Office can still request non-medical information to locate an individual where this is in the interests of safeguarding an individual and necessary to protect a person's welfare. Any such request would be considered by NHS Digital’s Welfare Assessment Panel.
As at 30 November 2023, NHS England has not released any information to the Home Office on these grounds since the MOU was suspended in May 2018.
Tracing Service review
A review to assess the appropriateness, effectiveness and operational efficiency of our tracing services was undertaken during 2015 and 2016. The review was published in November 2017.
Fair processing
The Personal Demographics Service (PDS) is the national electronic database of NHS patient details such as name, address, date of birth and NHS Number (known as demographic information).
More information about how this information is used can be found in the PDS fair processing statement.
Further information
Find out how to get in touch with the Personal Demographics Service (PDS) National Back Office (NBO).
The Personal Demographics Service (PDS) National Back Office (NBO) has responsibility for the management of NHS Numbers and PDS records.
The Personal Demographic Service (PDS) National Back Office (NBO) can update incorrect data items on the PDS.
The Personal Demographics Service (PDS) National Back Office (NBO) provide a Tracing Service under specific legislation to a range of NHS and non-NHS bodies.
This service has been decommissioned and replaced by the Data Access Tracing Service (DATS). All enquiries should be directed to [email protected]
Find out why and how we process your data in the National Back Office for the Personal Demographics Service system, and your rights. This is part of our GDPR information on how we handle data.
Last edited: 1 December 2023 2:11 pm