New cyber security resources available online as part of Keep I.T. Confidential campaign


NHS and social care organisations are being invited to take advantage of new cyber security resources designed to raise awareness of the threat of ransomware.

The new information packs have been made available on the NHS Digital website as part of the existing Keep I.T. Confidential online cyber security awareness toolkit.

Two sets of campaign materials have been published; one aimed at staff based in clinical settings and another for those who work in the adult social care sector.

Launched by NHS Digital’s Data Security Centre, the free materials have been designed to help NHS organisations run their own cyber security awareness campaigns at a time and in a way that suits them.

The aim is to help improve staff knowledge of cyber security concerns such as phishing, unauthorised data sharing, unlocked screens and weak passwords.

Assets included in the toolkit are:

  • Screensavers
  • Digital banners
  • Sticky notes
  • Social media graphics – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn
  • An animation

NHS Digital’s Executive Director of Cyber Operations Mike Fell said: “Good security practices are our shared responsibility and being cyber aware can significantly reduce the chance of cyber events affecting people’s care.

“We know how busy staff are, but we encourage everyone to prioritise reducing security risks as much as they can to protect the NHS and social care against vulnerabilities.

“Taking small, simple steps and considering security in your day-to-day work can make a huge difference and we hope that these resources can really play a part in helping to drive that change.”

Ransomware is a form of malicious software that can make data or systems unusable until the victim makes a payment.

Reduce the risk of common cyber security concerns by:

  • Choosing a strong and varied password
  • Being aware of potential phishing scams
  • Wearing your staff ID badge on-site

More information on the Keep I.T. Confidential campaign is available here.  

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Podcast: Plans to transform the digital workforce

You can listen to a new podcast by NHS England’s digital workforce team to learn about their plan to narrow the skills gap for digital, data, technology and informatics roles. During it, senior digital leaders in the health and care system talk about what they think is fundamental to the success of the plan.

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Case study: How to save hundreds of hours verifying student identities

The Apply for Care ID service enables health and care staff needing to access national clinical information systems and data to verify their identity remotely. Read our latest case study to find out how the service is supporting Registration Authorities, students and student support teams, as well as how your organisation can start using the service.

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Help us improve: Integrating with our APIs

We are seeking feedback from organisations that have used our APIs or our API catalogue during 2022 to help us build on what we are doing well and make improvements where needed.  

If you can help, please complete our Developer Integration Survey. It takes about 5-10 minutes to complete and is open until 31 January. 

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Event: NHS ConfedExpo 2023

This year’s NHS ConfedExpo will take place on 14 and 15 June at Manchester Central. The event will bring together health and care leaders and their teams from across the sector for 2 days of inspiring sessions, shared learning, and valuable networking opportunities.     

NHS, local authority and wider public sector staff are eligible for a free ticket. Register your interest in attending and follow @ConfedExpo on Twitter for the latest updates.

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Event: National Care Records Service

You’re invited to attend an online session to learn about the new National Care Records Service (NCRS) and how to migrate or get access to it.  The NCRS is the improved successor to the Summary Care Record application (SCRa).  

Register for the 2 February session aimed at people working in pharmacy. 

Register for the 7 February session aimed at people who work in clinical, pharmacy, ambulance or care roles. 

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For information: Improving our approach to communicating with you 

We are tweaking our approach to this bulletin in response to feedback. Instead of relying on a monthly bulletin, which has sometimes meant information has arrived too late and buried in a long email,  essential information for digital leaders will appear on this section of the website. 

When essential items are added to the website we will email you an alert. You will receive a short summary of these alerts every month instead of the bulletin 

If you have any feedback, please contact bulletins.nhsdigital@nhs.net. 

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For information: NHS Digital merges with NHS England

In February 2023, NHS Digital will merge with NHS England. NHS England will assume responsibility for all activities previously undertaken by NHS Digital. 

NHS Digital’s systems and services will continue to operate as normal and contracts will automatically transfer to NHS England, with terms and conditions unchanged.  

Read more about the changes.

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NHS App hits over 30 million sign-ups

Millions more patients across England are benefitting from easier access to their health records and medical services through the NHS App, as sign ups top 30 million – including seven million new sign ups in 2022.

The app, which launched four years ago, was one of the most popular free health apps of 2022 – with more people accessing its range of features, including over 65 million GP record views.

The government has already met its target to have 68% of people in England registered with the NHS App by March 2023 and is firmly on track to meet its second target to have 75% of people registered by 2024.

The app offers a digital front door for interacting with the NHS and has seen a host of new features launched in the last 12 months – empowering patients to access services from the comfort of their homes. 

Simon Bolton, Interim Chief Executive at NHS Digital, said: 

“The NHS App continues to change the way people in England access healthcare services. Since it was launched four years ago, millions of people have used it to book GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions and view GP records. 

“We’ve also added new features to the app to help people manage hospital appointments, book Covid vaccinations and receive messages from GPs. The NHS App is a great example of how technology can be used to help people take control of their healthcare and access NHS services quickly and easily.” 

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: 

“Technology is transforming the way we use the NHS and with over 30 million sign ups to the NHS App across the country, including seven million last year alone, there is huge potential to modernise services for patients and staff. 

“In the last year alone 22 million repeat prescriptions have been ordered through the app, saving valuable time for clinicians and helping people access their treatment as easily as possible. 

“On top of this we have added innovative new features – from accessing GP records to booking Covid jabs  – which will help us ease pressures on GPs and other primary care services and provide more effective, personalised care. If you haven’t already I’d encourage you to download the app and see how it can help you access the services you need.” 

The NHS App is supporting hardworking NHS staff as they work tirelessly to clear the Covid backlogs, freeing up valuable clinician time as well as empowering patients to have greater control over their health and care records. 

A total of 1.7 million GP appointments were booked through the NHS App last year and a record breaking 22 million repeat prescriptions ordered, up from 9 million over the same period the year prior. 128,000 people also registered their organ donation decision through the NHS App.

Patients in many parts of the country are also able to view and manage their hospital appointments on the app – helping to build a modern, digital NHS. The new features include viewing all referrals and future hospital appointments in one place, accessing supporting information for appointments – such as hospital maps – along with booking, changing and cancelling appointments. 

The new features are available to patients at 20 NHS Trusts across the country from York and Scarborough to Royal Cornwall – with another 24 trusts expected to be available by March 2023 – and has been used over 800,000 times.  

Lords Minister For Technology Nick Markham said: 

“Millions of patients have continued to sign up to the NHS App, helping to generate a record number of views and modernise how our health service works. 

“We will continue to innovate and incorporate new features to ensure that patients can access convenient, high quality care when and where they need it.” 

People can also receive notifications from their GPs, a feature which has been rolled out across nearly 2,000 practices. Thanks to this effort over 700,000 messages to update patients including appointment reminders and test results have been successfully processed. 

People are also benefitting from the ability to book a Covid vaccine appointment through the NHS App. More than 28,000 bookings have been made via this route in just four weeks since the feature was added in November, accounting for 9% of all bookings since this feature was enabled. 

Thanks to these kind of features, millions of people are benefitting from easier and quicker access to NHS services – and the government will continue to build on the progress which has already been made. 

New features in the app available in 2023 will ensure patients can access more NHS services at their fingertips – including booking their flu vaccination and accessing hospital correspondence, such as pre-consultation questionnaires.

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