Money-saving deal gives NHS staff access to latest digital tools

All NHS staff in England will have access to the latest digital tools as part of ongoing efforts to increase efficiency and boost productivity in the health service.

A deal negotiated by NHS England will mean all NHS workers, including doctors, nurses, clinicians and support staff, can benefit from the full suite of Microsoft 365 workplace productivity apps, making collaboration easier and maximising time for care.

In the past, each local organisation would be responsible for purchasing their own licences for software. By using a single national contract, the NHS is taking advantage of its collective purchasing power to save millions of pounds, as well as ensuring organisations are all working on the same systems.

The new five-year agreement, which has been awarded to Bytes, includes access to Microsoft products and will also provide the opportunity to introduce further innovative tools from other suppliers in the future.

Since the first national deal in March 2020 made the Microsoft Teams app available to all NHS staff, users have saved more than 17 million hours of time by using it for virtual meetings, where meeting in person is not necessary.

John Quinn, Chief Information Officer at NHS England, said:

“This new five-year agreement will mean we can create a platform for innovation so that NHS workers always have the latest digital tools to help them focus on frontline care.

“We’ve seen huge benefits following our original agreement with Microsoft in 2020, whether using Microsoft Teams to make it quicker and easier to arrange meetings or other digital tools that mean more time can be spent supporting patients.

“As the NHS turns 75, this deal is part of a long history of the health service adapting to make use of the latest and greatest innovations available to deliver more productive and joined up services for patients, and gives us a strong platform to build on for the future.

“This is a further great example of the NHS using our collective buying power to secure market-leading products at a reduced cost for taxpayers, and our contract with Bytes means we can also explore opportunities to introduce new innovative technology over the coming years.”

The five-year agreement will mean NHS organisations can benefit from a comprehensive suite of Microsoft security solutions. This includes capabilities around threat protection, data governance and compliance that will strengthen the cyber resilience of the NHS.

Clare Barclay, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft UK, said:

“As the NHS marks its 75th anniversary, Microsoft is delighted to provide technology that will enable clinicians and support staff to focus on what matters most – caring for patients.

“This agreement will ensure that NHS organisations can deliver efficiency, reform ways of working through collaboration tools and build resilience through a modern, secure cloud-based infrastructure.”

Jack Watson, Managing Director, Bytes, said:

“Bytes are delighted to strengthen our longstanding relationship with the NHS by accelerating their secure adoption of Microsoft cloud services that provide a platform for future innovation in healthcare. This five-year contract highlights the breadth and depth of skills Bytes bring in managing, advising, and supporting the NHS to utilise secure cloud platforms, analytics, and apps.

“This award reflects our remarkable heritage in connecting people with technology. It is fitting, and a great privilege, to be selected as the partner of choice on the 75th anniversary of the NHS. We are committed to putting customer service and patient outcomes at the forefront of our daily activity.”

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Schools encouraged to participate in NHS survey on smoking, drinking and drug use

The Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use in Young People in England survey provides an invaluable snapshot of prevalence, trends and attitudes amongst students aged 11 to 16.  

The results will provide vital information to better understand behaviour and to develop policies, plan new initiatives and monitor their impact. 

Students in participating schools will complete the survey questionnaire anonymously under exam conditions. This year for the first time, the survey will be open to all mainstream secondary schools and entirely online, so students will be able to complete it securely on a school computer, laptop or tablet.  This will halve the time needed and improve accessibility, making it easier for schools and for students.  

Since its inaugural publication in 1982, the survey is now published every two years and has been an important source of information for government departments, local authorities, charities and academic institutions. It plays an essential role in informing health and education policy, for instance in 2015, the survey data was used to help make the case for the legislation which banned adults smoking in cars when children are present.  

The 2023 report will be published by NHS England next year and is accredited with National Statistics status, while the survey itself will be carried out by Ipsos. 

It will include information on the percentage of students who have ever smoked, drunk alcohol or taken drugs and is analysed by demographics including age, gender, ethnicity and geography. 

The survey will also deliver updated insights into the increasing use of e-cigarettes, or ‘vaping’, amongst young people. This follows findings from the 2021 survey which saw a 3% increase in e-cigarette use, from 6% in 2018 up to 9% in 2021.  

As part of the research, secondary schools from across the country are being asked to facilitate the short survey between September and December 2023. State, independent and private secondary schools are all invited to register their interest in participating.  

Schools will receive a lesson plan designed to fit in with the PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) curriculum and the survey can be run as part of a PSHE lesson. Participating schools will also receive a bespoke report showing how their school’s survey results compare to the national results. The new online format will also allow the survey to be undertaken on a voluntary basis by schools annually. 

Gary Childs, Assistant Director, Data and Analytics at NHS England said: “The insight about behaviours and attitudes that this survey offers is essential to the formation of effective health and education policy. 

“Without the participation of schools, we would not be able to provide this crucial insight and therefore we are extremely grateful to all the schools and students who take up this opportunity.” 

Sam Clemens, Research Director at Ipsos said: “We are really pleased to be launching this survey digitally for the first time, and are looking forward to working closely with NHS England, schools and students across the country to deliver another hugely insightful data gathering project.  

“The scale of the survey allows us to accurately understand the nuances in trends between age groups and demographics, which is why we encourage as many schools as possible to participate. In addition to helping wider policy, this information will allow schools to provide bespoke and targeted support to their students.” 

The new digital version of the Smoking, Drinking and Drugs Survey has been piloted with a small group of volunteer schools.  

Aimee Stevens, Head of CLASS – Culture, Life and Societies Studies (PSHE) at Penrice Academy in Cornwall, said: “Being involved in this year’s pilot scheme for the survey has been incredibly valuable to us. It has helped us understand how these issues affect our students and how we can incorporate the data into our pastoral offer as well as PSHE lessons. 

“It is important that students have the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences and that we gather perspectives from across the country. The topics are very relevant points of interest to our pupils and the survey is a fantastic opportunity for us to engage in informed discussions on the issues of smoking, drinking and drug use.” 

Schools can register their interest to participate or find out more information about the survey by emailing SDDsurvey@ipsos.com. 

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Event: Supporting ICBs to adopt the Register with a GP surgery service – July 2023

Colleagues working in integrated care boards are invited to join a webinar on 11 July from midday to 1pm to hear about the benefits of the Register with a GP surgery service for both GP practices and patients.

You’ll learn more about how you can support the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care by encouraging uptake in your area, and get a demonstration of our new dashboard which tracks service uptake on both practice and regional levels.

Register to attend.

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Public-facing service naming in Care Identity Service

We've clarified how we're naming some applications and services and this article explains these changes.

Summary

  • Care Identity Service is now used as the name for the whole service covering access to the NHS Spine portal and patient data.
  • The smartcard and profile management system known as Care Identity Service will now be known specifically as the Care Identity Service application.
  • We're moving away from the name Identity and Access Management.
  • The Care Identity Service application is being replaced by Care Identity Management and this name has not changed.
  • CIS2 only refers to CIS2 Authentication. CIS2 is not an alternative name for Care Identity Management.
  • Apply for Care ID is not changing.

Explaining each name

Care Identity Service naming diagram

Access to patient data using smartcards and other authenticators is grouped under one overarching name: Care Identity Service. This is printed on smartcards and people understand what it means, so we've decide to keep this name.

We do know Care Identity Service is the name of the legacy system that Registration Authorities use to manage access to patient data. We will now be referring to that system as the Care Identity Service application. It is gradually being replaced by Care Identity Management.

We have decided to move away from the name Identity and Access Management. Where you see that name, you should take it to be referring to Care Identity Service.

Apply for Care ID is not changing.

CIS1 v CIS2

We understand that CIS1 and CIS2 have become confusing terms. From now on, we will only use these terms to describe two specific parts of Care Identity Service:

  • CIS1 Authentication - this legacy authentication service is being replaced by CIS2 Authentication
  • CIS2 Authentication - the new secure authentication service used to access patient data with smartcards, security keys, Windows Hello for Business, iPads and Microsoft Authenticator

CIS1 is not the name of the legacy system being replaced by Care Identity Management. That system is now only known as the Care Identity Service application.

CIS2 had been used in some cases as another name for Care Identity Management. CIS2 will now only refer to CIS2 Authentication and not Care Identity Management.

Other names

We do sometimes use other terms and acronyms as part of internal project management, such as CIA, URS and other uses of CIS2, but we will not use these as public-facing service names.

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Naming conventions in Care Identity Service

We've clarified how we're naming some applications and services and this article explains these changes.

Summary

  • Care Identity Service (CIS) is now used as the name for the whole service covering access to patient data.
  • The smartcard and profile management system known as Care Identity Service will now be known specifically as the Care Identity Service application.
  • We've stopped using the name Identity and Access Management.
  • The Care Identity Service application is being replaced by Care Identity Management and this name has not changed.
  • CIS2 only refers to CIS2 Authentication. CIS2 is not an alternative name for Care Identity Management.
  • Apply for Care ID is not changing.

Explaining each name

Access to patient data using smartcards and other authenticators is grouped under one overarching name: Care Identity Service. This is printed on smartcards and people understand what it means, so we've decide to keep this name.

We do know Care Identity Service is the name of the legacy system that Registration Authorities use to manage access to patient data. We will now be referring to that system as the Care Identity Service application.

We have decided to move away from the name Identity and Access Management. Where you see that name, you should take it to be referring to Care Identity Service.

Apply for Care ID is not changing.

CIS1 v CIS2

We understand that CIS1 and CIS2 have become confusing terms. From now on, we will only use these terms to describe two specific parts of Care Identity Service:

  • CIS1 Authentication - this legacy authentication service is being replaced by CIS2 Authentication
  • CIS2 Authentication - the new secure authentication service used to access patient data with smartcards, security keys, Windows Hello for Business, iPads and Microsoft Authenticator

CIS1 is not the name of the legacy system being replaced by Care Identity Management. That system is now only known as the Care Identity Service application.

CIS2 had been used in some cases as another name for Care Identity Management. CIS2 will now only refer to CIS2 Authentication and not Care Identity Management.

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Changes to guidance for Registration Authority and smartcard users

We're making changes to the Care Identity Service information on the NHS England website.

We want to make it easier for Registration Authority and smartcard users to find what they need. This does not change how you do your job, just how this site can help you to do it.

You can read more below or go straight to the new Care Identity Service area.

Registration Authority users

We're moving our Registration Authority content to a new Registration Authority area.

Analytics showed the old Registration Authority page was one of the most visited pages on the site. Having spoken to different users of that page, we found that it did not get people quickly enough to the information they were looking for.

The new area includes:

  • the latest news Registration Authorities may need to do their jobs
  • how to set up a Registration Authority workstation
  • primary service care provider contact details
  • how to order blank smartcards, readers and printers

If you are a Registration Authority user and you start using the new area, we would greatly appreciate your feedback.

Smartcard users

We understand that smartcard users need one central place to get help with the most common issues they encounter. This includes how to:

  • use a new smartcard
  • unlock a smartcard
  • renew smartcard certificates
  • find their Registration Authority
  • change their Care Identity profile or passcode

You can now find this information on the new smartcard and authenticator users page.

What else is changing

You can now get help and information about each Care Identity application and service, including Care Identity Management, Apply for Care ID and the Care Identity Service application.

For details of the latest releases and planned maintenance within each application or service, go to our new release hub.

If you're having technical issues, you can go to our new setting up and troubleshooting area. This includes a list of fixes for common issues, which we'll be developing as issues are identified.

These new sections are still in development and we'll continue to make changes in the coming weeks and months. Your feedback will be vital, so we can make the right changes to help you get the most from this site.

We want to know any:

  • pages you use regularly that you now cannot find
  • conflicting or confusing information
  • improvements or additions you can suggest

To give feedback on these content changes, or anything else to do with Care Identity Service, go to our feedback area.

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Guidance for Registration Authorities accessing the new NHS Cervical Screening Management System

NHS England is stepping up preparations for switchover to the new NHS Cervical Screening Management System (CSMS) for call/recall towards the end of 2023.

As Open Exeter will no longer be accessible after the transition to the new NHS CSMS, it is vital that local IT teams, Registration Authorities and system users take action before 30 September 2023 to enable a seamless switchover to the new CSMS.

To access the new CSMS, all staff will require an NHS smartcard, with the appropriate role-based access codes (RBAC), and to be assigned to a specific workgroup.

This new workgroup will need to be added to their smartcard to ensure access to the new CSMS is limited to only those staff authorised to use it. Most staff who work in cervical screening services will already have a smartcard with the necessary RBAC, but a small number of staff may need to apply for one.

Registration Authorities will need to:

  • ensure that RA agents are aware they'll need a smartcard to access the new system
  • process smartcard requests for cervical screening staff who do not currently have one
  • process requests for additional RBAC functions and workgroups to be added to ensure the correct permissions are in place for existing smartcard holders who work in cervical screening services

Read more about the new service and what Registration Authorities need to do.

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Health staff switching to improved NHS patient record service

Health staff switching to improved NHS patient record service

Health and care professionals are being encouraged to move to the new version of an NHS patient record service to enhance the way national patient medical information can be accessed.

The National Care Records Service (NCRS) will replace the Summary Care Record application (SCRa) when it closes at the end of September 2023.

The previous system SCRa is currently used by over 15,000 organisations and 115,000 health and care professionals to securely access patient medical information at the point of care. It is built on older technology and is not aligned with the more modern working practices of health and care professionals.

NCRS improves the way staff can access patient records. It can be used in clinical, office or mobile environments over the internet, as well as via the Health and Social Care Network.

The free, web-based service has been specially designed for better internet-first connectivity, making it more compatible with mobile devices in modern healthcare settings.

Sign-in methods have also been upgraded to include secure biometric log-in, Microsoft authenticator, as well as using existing physical and virtual smartcards.

Stephen Koch, Executive Director for Platforms at NHS England, said: “The new NCRS has been created with both mobile and internet technology in mind, to better meet the needs of modern healthcare settings and meet accessibility standards in a way the previous system was unable to.

“By working closely with end users, we have designed the new service to provide a quick and secure way to access national patient information to improve clinical decision-making and healthcare outcomes for patients.

“We’ve taken steps to ensure the switch over to NCRS is as quick and simple as possible and hope users will take this opportunity to join the thousands of other health and care staff who have already switched to the new system to benefit from the new features available.”

Services accessed by NCRS will remain the same, enabling health and care professionals to still search for patient NHS numbers using the Personal Demographics Service, access patient Summary Care Records, and view Child Protection information.

Extra features will mean they can now also retrieve care plans through the National Record Locator and view Reasonable Adjustments flags.

Existing smartcard credentials and access rights will also continue to work on NCRS.

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is among the many healthcare settings who have already switched over to the NCRS.

Donna Flatt, data quality manager at the Trust, said: “The process of switching over to NCRS was quick and easy. It has a nicer appearance and is easy to navigate. NHS number retrieval is also quicker and easier, with a copy button next the NHS number. It supports our clinical teams to effectively treat patients using up-to-date and accurate information.”

Simon Parton, head of ICT systems and applications services at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, added: “NCRS offers a better user experience in terms of improved navigation, making it easier and enabling more efficient ways of working.

“The whole switching process was seamless causing no disruption to service. It is a much-needed enhancement and improvement to what was already a very useful digital tool, offering only benefits for Trusts.”

All users of SCRa are required to switch to the National Care Records Service (NCRS) before 29 September 2023 to continue accessing national patient information services. 

Further information on NCRS service including its benefits is available on the website.

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Event: Digital, data and technology skills support for electronic patient records

We’re hosting a virtual event on Thursday 29 June to explore the digital, data and technology (DDaT) skills demands of NHS provider organisations and what role industry can play in meeting this demand.

The aim is to link providers who are in the process of implementing their electronic patient record (EPR) together with skilled and experienced suppliers who have a track record of delivery in this area. This is part of our Frontline Digitisation programme.

The event is open to any supplier who currently provides specialist DDaT resources to NHS providers and has direct experience working with EPR systems in the UK.

Find out more and register your interest in attending. Registration closes at 5pm on Monday 26 June.

You can contact england.supplier@nhs.net if you have any questions.

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Share your views on the draft data access policy update

You’re invited to share your views on the updated draft data access policy, which outlines the development of the policy and strategic decisions around external data access. It builds upon the secure data environment policy guidelines published last year.

The draft data access policy update is intended for a technical audience, such as data controllers, data users and platform providers. Please send your feedback by 23 June 2023.

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