Organisation objective

• Statutory item
• Governance

Executive summary

This paper is for the Board’s information only, to provide an overview of the Healthcare Operational Data Flows Directions 2024 (Directions) issued to NHS England in May 2024 by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. These Directions have been issued under section 254(1) and 304(9), (10) and (12) of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (the 2012 Act) and sections 13ZC and 272(7) and (8) of the National Health Service Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).

The purpose of the Directions (Purpose) is to require NHS England (NHSE) to establish and operate an information system to collect and analyse information in order to implement automated granular daily data collections to replace and rationalise existing, less regular local and national data flows, and national aggregated data collections, called SitReps.

This will reduce the reporting burden on providers and provide more timely data for the purposes of the NHS, to enable improved data insights to be obtained in order to support NHS delivery plans for the recovery of elective care [see footnote 1] and emergency and urgent care [see footnote 2]. This will help facilitate improvement to NHS waiting lists, care co-ordination and improvement in the quality and timeliness of healthcare operational data flows through the health and social care system.

Action required

The Board is asked to note the new Directions and the information provided in this Paper regarding their purpose, effect, and requirements.

Background

1. Under section 254 of the 2012 Act, the Secretary of State (SoS) may direct NHSE to establish and operate a system for the collection or analysis of information. These are functions exercisable in relation to the development or operation of information systems in connection with the provision of health services or of adult social care in England. Under section 13ZC of the 2006 Act, the SoS may give NHSE directions as to the exercise of any of its functions. The Directions are issued by the SoS to NHSE under these provisions and are functions which have been transferred to NHSE from NHS Digital (NHSD) under the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Transfer of Functions, Abolition and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2023.

Purpose of the Direction

2. The purpose of these Directions is to require NHS England to collect and analyse information in order to implement automated granular daily data collections to replace and rationalise existing, less regular local and national data flows, and national aggregated data collections, called SitReps.

3. This will reduce the reporting burden on providers and provide more timely data for the purposes of the NHS, to enable improved data insights to be obtained in order to support NHS delivery plans for the recovery of elective care and emergency and urgent care.  This will help facilitate improvement to NHS waiting lists, care co-ordination and improvement in the quality and timeliness of healthcare operational data flows through the health and social care system.

4. The development and delivery of more timely data collections will support proactive and reactive reporting for local, regional and national decision-making across the health and adult social care pathway, including in secondary care and in community care services.  This will also enable NHS England and Integrated Care Boards to manage the provision of, and oversee the management of, health services in England, including, but not limited to, acute, elective and virtual wards services.

5. The Purpose of the Directions includes setting up various new collections to support delivery plans for elective care and emergency and urgent care. The Directions therefore operate as framework directions. This means that they establish a broad Purpose for which data is to be collected and analysed and provide for separate requirements specifications to be put in place under the Directions over time. The requirements specifications contain the detail of individual collections that NHSE will be directed to collect and analyse. Each of the separate requirements specifications will be published alongside the Directions.

6. There is an initial requirements specification published with the Directions in relation to the Healthcare Operational Data Flows Acute Collection – The development and delivery of this acute data collection will provide local and national commissioners/decision makers with more timely data about current acute patient activity for planning, benchmarking, service improvement, response to crisis, and to comply with their statutory duties. The collection will enable data that has previously been collected less frequently under existing Directions [see footnote 3] to be made available on a daily basis, showing acute activity from the previous day to local commissioners and at a national level. This new national daily acute collection follows the implementation of a previous pilot daily collection [see footnote 4]. The data will be collected, pseudonymised and made available through the national instance of the Federated Data Platform.

Effect and Requirements of the Direction

7. From 28 May 2024, the date of signature of the Directions, NHSE has a legal duty to comply with the Directions, which require it to establish and operate such systems for the collection and analysis of information as set out in, and in accordance with the accompanying Requirements Specfiication. This includes linkage to other data lawfully held by NHSE as described in the Requirements Specifications and such other analysis as the SoS may require or as NHSE determines is necessary, to achieve the Purpose.

8. These functions are to be exercised in accordance with the Requirements Specifications. Also in accordance with the service levels, support and monitoring requirements, and the reporting and governance requirements notified by the SoS in writing to NHSE. The exercise by NHSE of the functions set out in the Directions is also subject to the statutory guidance issued by the SoS to NHSE under section 274A of the 2012 Act: NHS England’s protection of patient data, 23 May 2023 [see footnote 5]. This is guidance that NHSE has a duty to have regard to when discharing its functions under these Directions.

Approval of acceptance of Directions and publication

9. The National Director of Transformation (interim) and National Medical Director approved acceptance of the Directions on behalf of the Accounting Officer as set out in the NHSE Scheme of Delegation. The Directions have been published on the NHSE website [see footnote 6]. 

Annex 1

Healthcare Operational Data Flows Directions 2024

Requirements Specification Healthcare Operational Data Flows Directions –  Acute

Footnotes

1. https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/delivery-plan-for-tackling-the-covid-19-backlog-of-elective-care/
2. NHS England » Major plan to recover urgent and emergency care services
3. Under the Data Services for Commissioners Directions 2015: https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/corporate-information-and-documents/directions-and-data-provision-notices/nhs-england-directions/establishment-of-information-systems-for-nhs-services-data-services-for-commissioners-directions-2015
4. Under an amendment to the Data Services for Commissioners Directions 2015: https://digital.nhs.uk/binaries/content/assets/website-assets/corporate-information/directions-and-data-provision-notices/nhs-england-directions/2022/amendment-to-the-health-and-social-care-information-centre-establishment-of-information-systems-for-nhs-services-data-services-for-commissioenrs-directions-2015.pdf
5. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-englands-protection-of-patient-data/nhs-englands-protection-of-patient-data
6. https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/corporate-information-and-documents/directions-and-data-provision-notices/secretary-of-state-directions/healthcare-operational-data-flows-directions-2024

Publication reference:  Public Board paper (BM/24/33b(Pu))