Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on improving continuity of care between secondary care and primary care following A&E attendance.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, set out clear ambitions as part of the 10-Year Health Plan around moving the National Health Service from analogue to digital, harnessing technology to allow patients to better manage their own care. The Medium Term Planning Framework reiterates this focus, including achieving full compliance with the minimum standards set out in the Digital Capabilities Framework.
NHS England is supporting integrated care boards and providers to improve information sharing and coordination at discharge from urgent and emergency care, so primary care teams have timely access to relevant clinical information and can arrange appropriate follow‑up.
This includes continued rollout of the NHS Federated Data Platform, which supports integrated care systems to connect data across urgent, acute, and community services, helping to improve care transitions and follow‑up after accident and emergency attendance.
We are continuing to work across Government to cut red tape and improve ways of working, including work to improve the patient experience at the interface of primary and secondary care.