Sharing access to patients’ health data across NHS providers in England could result in 20,000 fewer A&E visits a year and save £20m annually, the government has claimed, before the second reading of the NHS modernisation bill on Monday.
The bill, which would also abolish NHS England, sets out measures including single patient records (SPR) for every person receiving health and social care in England, requiring GPs and hospitals to securely share data as part of the government’s 10-year health plan.
Combining SPRs with virtual care would reduce A&E attendances for frail patients by about 10,000 a year, with another 10,000 fewer visits as a result of fewer misdiagnoses. This would save doctors about 500,000 hours a year, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.
The DHSC also predicts 6,000 fewer hospital admissions a year based on the avoided A&E attendances, better heart failure management and improved mental health care. The £20m savings would come through reducing medication errors, adverse drug reactions and duplicate prescribing.
The bill sets out a legislative framework for the targeted measures. Maternity and frailty care are expected to benefit from 2027.
All NHS providers, including hospitals and GPs, would share data so medical professionals could see a patient’s medical history without the need for patients to keep repeating their issues unnecessarily. The change would join up community services and help people manage their conditions.
Patients would have more control over their care, with clear safeguards, audit trails and choice over how their data was used. Social care records and those from private healthcare providers working on behalf of the NHS would also be included.
At present, GPs are the data controllers for their patients’ records and can share them with third parties for research purposes. It is likely the DHSC will also become a data controller for the GP records when they are shared into the system.
The British Medical Association has called for doctors to remain in control of GP data rather than the DHSC. Its GP committee has warned any move to take control of data away from GPs would damage trust and risk confidentiality.
The system would have security and privacy by design baked in, which should allow anyone to see who has accessed an SPR, with existing clinical protocols governing what gets shared into the record.
James Murray, the new health secretary, who took the post after Wes Streeting resigned last month, said it was important the new system was “done in a way that people can have absolute trust in”.
“When people hear data, they think safety, they think data security. So when we’re building the system over the next couple of years, it will be crucial to have strict legal safeguards in place,” he told BBC1’s Breakfast.
“We’ll make sure that only specified people can access the data, and there will be an audit trail of exactly who has accessed the data. There will be strong cybersecurity protections for it as well, and we will protect this data – like we do all of our health data today.”
The bill abolishes NHS England, transferring its functions to the DHSC and cutting layers of bureaucracy. It will give effect to a number of reforms and recommendations set out in the 10-year health plan, such as providing for the implementation of the Dash review in relation to the Health Services Safety Investigations Body and Healthwatch.
It will also introduce targeted measures to support the devolution of decision-making to a local level through integrated care boards and provider organisations.
NHS Online, the virtual hospital model launching in 2027 to provide planned specialist care through the NHS app, aims to provide the equivalent of up to 8.5m appointments and assessments in its first three years.
The former health secretary Wes Streeting is expected to say that to continue cutting waiting times, the government must win the argument for change and modernisation.
He is expected to tell the House of Commons on Monday: “Those who claim recent improvements in NHS performance are simply the result of more money are making exactly the same mistake that has held the NHS back for years.
“Investment matters, but we’re combining investment with reform: embracing technology, cutting bureaucracy, improving productivity and changing how care is delivered.”
