Help us design, test and pilot Single Sign-On

As part of NHS England's 10 Year Health Plan, a programme of work has been commissioned to deliver a national Single Sign-On capability that simplifies and streamlines access to NHS systems. The ambition is to reduce the burden of multiple logins for NHS health and care workers, improve their experience of the systems they use, and free up valuable clinical and operational time.

We are examining different architecture patterns and approaches to enabling Single Sign-On across NHS systems. Those patterns can only be proven against real application estates, in organisations with real workflows. That is why we are seeking to partner with frontline organisations rather than design in isolation.

Partnership begins with a conversation, not a commitment. There are 4 stages, and each ends with a decision that either organisation can take:

1. An introductory discussion about the service and what participation could look like.
2. A pre-assessment session of around 2 to 3 hours, to understand your organisation and the challenges your staff face when accessing digital systems.
3. A deeper 8-week assessment, if the pre-assessment shows a good fit.
4. Delivery work with the service team, which may be discovery, alpha, beta or a live rollout depending on your estate.

Stages 2 and 3 make up our readiness assessment.

Taking part is an opportunity to influence the future of Single Sign-On, and to make sure the experiences and voices of your staff help shape national priorities. You also gain early insight into the service and a clear view of how simplified access could work in your setting.

The service has enablement funding available to support partner organisations. This could be direct funding of people in your organisation to manage and coordinate the work. Participation is not intended to be something you absorb into existing capacity unfunded.

To assess whether Single Sign-On can work in your organisation, we need to hear from people who can speak to three different areas. Ideally that means:

• a senior executive sponsor who can champion the work internally
• a senior clinical leader, such as a CNIO or CCIO, who understands the experience of your frontline staff
• a senior technical leader, such as a CIO or CTO, who understands your application and authentication landscape
• someone who can speak to organisational capacity, competing priorities and governance

These may be fewer people if individuals cover more than one area. Beyond the initial session, a deeper assessment also needs access to frontline staff for research, your application asset register, and introductions to the suppliers of the applications we shortlist.

The first step is a short introductory discussion. If you would like to learn more about the service, or to talk about what participation might involve for your organisation, email us at [email protected] and we will arrange a call.