Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who will own the intellectual property for the Federated Data Platform.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The supplier will continue to own the intellectual property right to its core Software as a Service (SaaS) and will grant NHS England and National Health Service organisations the right to use the software for the contract term. This will also include updates and amendments to the SaaS product or any additional third-party software that forms part of the contracted SaaS product.
Any products commissioned by NHS England or other NHS organisations delivered by the supplier outside of their standard SaaS product offering will be owned by NHS England. NHS England may grant the supplier the right to use the component for the contract term as necessary for service provision.
NHS England or the NHS organisation will retain all ownership and rights to all data contained within the platform and at no time do the rights to use this data transfer to the supplier. The supplier will have no rights to the data whether or not such data is personal data.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to promote the new Pace Checker feature in the NHS Active 10 app.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
‘Pace Checker’ is a new feature that launched in the NHS Active 10 mobile application in September 2023. The feature was developed to support individuals to measure their walking pace when using the Active 10 application, providing guidance and motivation to reach a brisk pace of over 100 steps per minute. Brisk walking contributes to reaching the Chief Medical Officer’s adult physical activity guidance of at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week.
The NHS Active 10 mobile application is primarily promoted through the Better Health programme and partnership initiatives, encouraging the public to take steps to improve their physical and mental health. Most recently, the application was promoted through a World Mental Health Day campaign by Every Mind Matters to encourage individuals to take up a ‘little big thing’ to support their mental health. More information on the Better Health programme is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Federated Data Platform protects the confidentiality of patient details outside of (a) clinical and (b) research requirements.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Federated Data Platform (FDP) will not be the route to access data for research purposes. Secure access to NHS data for research purposes will be provided through the NHS Research Secure Data Environment Network.
The software will provide a very high standard of security due to the purpose-based access controls, limiting access to data to specific individuals for a specific purpose, coupled with new Privacy Enhancing Technology (NHS-PET), which will provide robust protection and a standard approach to support safe data access and use.
The NHS-PET will be procured from a different supplier to the supplier of the Federated Data Platform and the platform will not go live until the PET is fully in place.
The use of the data in the Federated Data Platform will always remain under the full control and protection of the NHS. Patient data cannot be accessed by the company that makes the software.
Primarily, the data will remain within the organisation where the patient receives their care, and there are strict access controls within the NHS to ensure that only those who need to see the data are able to.
All uses of data within federated data platforms must be ethical, for the public good, and comply with all existing law. This includes the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the
Data Protection Act 2018, and the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality. There is a robust Information Governance Framework in place to ensure this.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there have been any instances of unauthorised parties gaining access to (a) sensitive data and (b) confidential information stored on the Federated Data Platform in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Federated Data Platform (FDP) is software that will sit across National Health Service trusts and integrated care systems allowing them to connect data they already hold in a secure and safe environment.
NHS England announced the outcome of the tender for the FDP on Tuesday 21 November. The service is not yet live or in use. In line with current transition planning, we do not expect data to be placed into the FDP until 2024.
No unauthorised parties have gained access to sensitive data or confidential information for the Care Coordination Solution or OPTICA pilots, which have been testing and demonstrating the kinds of benefits which the FDP is expected to deliver.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what she plans to announce the proposed developer for the Federated Data Platform.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England announced the outcome of the tender for the Federated Data Platform on Tuesday 21 November. This can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/11/new-nhs-software-to-improve-care-for-millions-of-patients/
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the integration of the My Planned Care platform with the NHS app to be delivered.
Answered by Will Quince
My Planned Care is a web-based platform that provides waiting time data by speciality and National Health Service trust, for both first outpatient appointment and treatment. It is available to all, including patients, carers, voluntary sector organisations, patient organisations, Patient Advice and Liaison Service hospital teams and general practices.
The NHS App provides secure access to a range of NHS services including a user’s medical record, the ability to order repeat prescriptions and to book or manage appointments.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with NHS trusts who (a) suspended or (b) paused pilots of Palantir Foundry on that company's suitability for NHS contracts.
Answered by Will Quince
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not held discussions with National Health Service trusts running pilots of Palantir’s Foundry software.
The use of Foundry by trusts is an operational issue for NHS England. Foundry pilots have been delivering benefits such as enabling trusts to improve hospital discharges and theatre utilisation and to reduce waiting lists through identifying errors.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage patient participation in the NHS federated data platform.
Answered by Will Quince
The Federated Data Platform (FDP) refers to software which will enable National Health Service organisations to bring together operational data, currently stored in separate systems, to support staff to access the information they need in one safe and secure environment. The FDP will allow staff to plan theatre time to maximise use, drawing together information on clinical need, waiting times, staff rotas, and other operational data.
The NHS will ensure public engagement is focused on how data will be used within the FDP. To do this, the FDP programme is actively engaging and involving patients and the public in decisions about how data will be used with the platform, and about how to best to meet the duty of transparency and open communication. It has published clear and accessible information, and will continue to do so, including details about who will access data and for what purpose. Where possible, public information will be co-created with public/patient groups and representatives.
The FDP programme will: be clear about people’s rights and choice to opt out (where applicable); has undertaken a series of public deliberation events and national research to understand the views of the public in relation to how their data is used, and to understand their expectations regarding how they are informed about its use; will engage with the public for the life of the programme, ensuring alignment to other data programmes, the development of a national data pact and engagement related to Data Saves Lives, the national data strategy; will engage the public, in a range of ways, to understand their views regarding patient data, including monitoring monthly through a public survey; and will continue to work closely with stakeholder groups who represent and champion the voice of the public and patients.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of the number of computers in the NHS that use the (a) Windows XP and (b) Windows 7.
Answered by Will Quince
The NHS England Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) monitors over 2 million devices across the NHS IT estate, identifying and preventing cyber threats. This includes monitoring the number of National Health Service computers using Windows XP and Windows 7, which stands at approximately 0.58% of the visible NHS estate.
The Department works with NHS England to monitor levels of unsupported systems across the NHS estate and to ensure that the risks are being appropriately managed. This includes taking regulatory action where organisations are not doing so. Where organisations are still running operating systems such as Windows 7 or Windows XP, such as on some large, legacy clinical devices, they are required to implement additional controls to manage the cyber security risk.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what advice or instructions have been issued to GP surgeries that patients should use the NHS App to re-order regular medication; and what account is taken of the needs of patients who are not able to use the NHS App.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No advice has been issued to GPs, but Patients are already able to order repeat prescriptions via the App, with 2.4 million prescriptions ordered in April 2023 alone. Patients unable to use the NHS App can continue to access services via telephone and through traditional face to face services.