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OneLondon Health Data Strategy Programme
Our ambition is for London to be the healthiest global city, and the best in which to receive health and care services. This means transforming the way we work across the Capital and moving to a more proactive system that improves health outcomes for all of London’s communities.
Joining up data across London is absolutely key to this and to meeting the needs of Londoners as a whole – whether through improved direct care and population health management, better system planning, or enhanced research and development capabilities.
That is why our 2019 London Vision set out plans to create a London-wide data platform to support this. Good progress has been made joining up data to deliver systems like the London Care Record, the Universal Care Plan, the Discovery Data Service, and DiscoverNow.
Thanks to this track record of delivery, London made a successful bid for national funding to establish a Sub-National Secure Data Environment (SN SDE) to support research across the Capital.
With this new funding partners across London are working together to develop a world leading resource for health and care improvement. OneLondon is working with London’s five Integrated Care Systems and a range of other partners, including Londoners themselves, to explore the best way to do this and how this shared data service can then be used to:
This work is being informed by extensive public engagement including a recent Citizens’ Advisory Group in summer 2023 comprising around 100 Londoners who will continue to work with the wider One London Health Data Strategy programme going forward.
Good progress is being made with the One London Health Data Strategy Programme of work and we expect to set out more detail about these plans shortly. You can keep up to date on progress on the London Health Data Strategy website.
Giving you better access to your health records and more control
OneLondon is joining up information safely and securely to deliver better health and care for Londoners. A key part of this work is giving you better access to your health and care records and more ways to interact with the people who provide that care.
The latest digital technology can support this by making sure you have the right information to access the services you need and giving you more control over your own care.
A plan for digital health and social care sets out how the NHS will deliver this, with the NHS App at the heart of these plans.
The NHS App is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services by smartphone or any smart device, or via NHS.uk on a desktop computer. It was used extensively during the pandemic to access Covid-19 passes and has now had over 29 million sign ups in England.
What is happening in London?
Across London a range of digital tools are already being used to give you better access to your health records, more consistent information and more choice and control over your health and care.
These digital applications can be accessed on smartphones, tablet or computer and depending on the specific system in place they can enable you to:
View and add information to your own health record
View details of upcoming and past appointments
Send a message to care teams or receive alerts about rescheduled appointments
Complete pre-treatment questionnaires online
View test results
Access health advice and support while you wait for appointments
OneLondon is supporting work across London to build on these existing initiatives so you have more access to your health records and greater opportunities to manage your health and care.
Next Steps
Building on the success of the NHS App, new features are being added to support you to manage your health and care and to stay well while you wait to be seen.
From Autumn 2022, some NHS Acute Trusts in London will link their existing patient portals to the NHS App. This means information and options for managing appointments are available in one place via the NHS App enabling you to:
View all your referrals and future secondary care appointments in one place
Access supporting information to help prepare for your appointments
View a single point of contact for each appointment
Book, change and cancel all your referrals and future secondary care appointments (in trusts where this functionality already exists via their portal provider)
These new NHS App features will give you more control over your hospital appointments and how and when you access information and support.
For the NHS, patient-led booking helps to reduce missed appointments.
If you have been referred from your GP to a hospital taking part, you will receive more information from that hospital about how to access and use the NHS App.
Care homes and the London Care Record
Late in 2022, as part of a pilot programme, the first 28 care homes in the Capital were connected to the London Care Record. This meant that for the first time they could see wider and key information about their residents from a range of health and care settings across London. This includes allergies, test results and care plans as well as GP data and hospital discharge summaries.
Evaluation of the pilot programme showed:
Following this pilot programme work has begun to provide access to the London Care Record to all of London’s 1,500 care homes. This will take place in a phased approach over the next couple of years.
We are currently working to accredit electronic record system providers and hope to see the first wave of care homes go live early in the new year with staff able to access the London Care Record directly from within their local systems.
Universal Care Plan (UCP)
The London Universal Care Plan is an NHS service that enables every Londoner to have their care and support wishes digitally shared with healthcare professionals across the capital.
A care plan is created following a conversation between a healthcare professional (such as a doctor or nurse) and the person in their care. Throughout the conversation, the healthcare professional will listen, understand and make notes on:
What is important to the person in their day-to-day life
Their preferences or wishes about their care
What support they need and who is best placed to provide this
Information about others who may be involved in that person’s care, such as relatives
The care plan is then created following this conversation using the Universal Care Plan. As soon as information is saved on the plan, it is visible to all health and care services who use it. This includes the London Ambulance Service, 111 and Out of Hours GP services who may see the person in an emergency.
OneLondon supported the development and introduction of this NHS service across London that became operational in July 2022.
Click here to visit the Universal Care Plan website.
Click here for more information about personalised care and support planning from the NHS website.
Click here for publications and resources for care planning in palliative and end of life care, provided by NHS England.
General enquiries
Postal address
OneLondon
ELHCP PMO office,
2nd Floor,
Unex Tower,
5 Station Street,
London E15 1DA
Our mission at OneLondon is to transform London’s health and care services by joining up information to support efficient, effective and safe care.
We are working closely with Londoners to deliver this vision which is part of a wider ambition for London to be the healthiest global city, and the best in which to receive health and care services.