Single consultant data repository

Accept in principle

Significant progress has been made on the collection of consultant performance data in the independent sector and the NHS. In 2018, ADAPt was launched to move towards a common set of standards for data collection, performance measure methodologies and reporting systems across the NHS and the independent sector, with potential to be fully implemented by 2022 to 2023.

This data will be made available for managers and healthcare professionals across the system to help support learning and identify outliers.

Over the next 12 months, we commit to reaching a decision with key stakeholders on what information can be published and whether further government action will be needed to achieve this.

The National Consultant Information Programme (NCIP) is publicly accessible to patients on the Getting It Right First Time website.

The NCIP portal is a free data platform containing consultant and provider-level activity and outcomes data for over 500 procedures in 13 surgical specialties. It covers National Health Service practices, NHS funded work in the independent sector, and privately funded work carried out in the NHS. Over time, the ambition is to add independent sector data, to provide a single repository of whole practice. Currently, patients are not able to access this data.

NCIP allows consultants in 13 surgical specialties to access their individual outcomes data, for personal learning, clinical governance, and appraisals. NCIP does not record practising privileges in the independent sector.

NCIP is a critical part of the response to the Paterson Inquiry, which recommended that there should be a single repository of the whole practice of consultants across England. By sharing high-quality outcome data, consultants, their appraisers, and responsible officers can compare outcomes for their practice or use peer review to improve their performance in a way that is measurable and objective, leading to better safety and efficiency across the NHS.

The Acute Data Alignment Programme (ADAPt)

ADAPt has now been subsumed into the NHS England Outcome and Registry Programme. The platform consolidates existing implantable device-level registries and implements new outcome registry data collections to address data and vigilance gaps, enabling the prevention of patient safety issues and adverse outcomes.

Medical Devices Outcomes Registry (MDOR)

NHS England launched the Medical Devices Outcomes Registry (MDOR) in April 2024 to support the response to recommendation 1 of the Paterson Inquiry. This resides on NHS England’s Outcome Registries Platform as a single repository to collect the responsible consultant (General Medical Council (GMC) number), supervising surgeon (GMC number) and lead surgeon (GMC number) as a repeating group. The single repository for collection of this data is the NHS England Outcome Registries Platform.

The MDOR will support improved patient safety by enabling analysis and facilitate surveillance of high-risk medical devices through linkage of component data modules, including associated patient outcomes, to support patient focussed activities such as review or recall of specific patients and devices.

Data submission to this single repository is mandatory for all providers under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The deadline for providers to begin to submit data is the end of March 2025. This includes the Independent Sector.

National Consultant Information Programme (NCIP)

The NCIP portal is a free data platform that allows consultants to review their own data: improving clinical quality, patient safety and supporting career development. It provides consultants with data covering their NHS practice wherever it is performed with high-quality, specialty-specific dashboards at patient level.

Nearly all trusts in England have been enrolled in NCIP (99%) and over 9,000 consultants now have access to the portal following universal access given across 7 surgical specialties.

NCIP is on track to give access to every consultant in 14 surgical specialties by 1 April 2025 with the intention of expanding into non-surgical specialties subsequently. Access to the portal has also been given to medical directors, responsible officers (who have governance responsibilities) and trust specialty clinical leads.

NCIP is now established as the visualisation platform for individual consultant outcome data. However, once a single repository is established and there is confidence in the accuracy of the data, discussions will take place with the profession as to what information is appropriate for publication.

The NCIP portal contains outcome data on NHS procedures no matter where they are performed (i.e. both in NHS trusts and the Independent Sector) but excludes those procedures performed on private patients carried out in the Independent Sector. It is intended that these data will be achieved via the Outcome and Registry Programme (ORP) which was established in 2022 to develop a single unified solution to capturing and using data from NHS and private healthcare providers to detect and predict issues relating to patient safety and outcomes, and prevent harm to future patients, and replaces the earlier Acute Data Alignment Programme (ADAPt).

Action 1.1

Data on consultants is collected separately by the NHS and private sector. NHS Digital (now merged with NHSE) collects information relating to NHS-funded care. Private sector healthcare providers must submit information to the PHIN under mandates from the CMA, which includes consultant-level data and information on inpatient and day case activity. PHIN published its roadmap and delivery plan for 2022-2026 to meet its mandate to publish performance data on independent sector consultants.

In 2018, SofS launched “ADAPt”, a joint programme between NHS Digital and PHIN which aims to provide a common set of standards for data collection, performance measures and reporting across NHS and private healthcare. The ADAPt programme to establish flow of NHS and private sector procedure data is progressing. ADAPt is due to begin supplying data to NHS servers in January 2024.

On ensuring accessibility of data relating to consultant performance, the National Consultant Information Programme (NCIP) is being implemented across England. NCIP provides a secure online portal which enables NHS consultants/surgeons to review information about their clinical activity and benchmark patient outcomes. As of 14 December 2023, there are 130 (of 136 in scope) Trusts with access to NCIP across at least one surgical speciality. During 2024, NCIP will roll out to at least another 11 specialities. NCIP intends to collect data from private patients treated in the IS received from PHIN (timescale to be confirmed). But the aim of NCIP is to publish the number and type of cases consultants perform to ensure consultants are carrying out procedures in the IS they are also doing in the NHS.

In 2022, NHSE established a central Outcome Registries Platform to receive the mandated Medical Device Outcome Registry (“MDOR”) data collection, to capture and use data from NHS and private healthcare providers to detect/predict issues relating to patient safety and outcomes and prevent harm to future patients. MDOR is collecting data on procedures involving high risk medical devices and includes full attribution of clinicians to the operation.

NHSE is implementing the NHS Digital Staff Passport, which will enable postgraduate doctors in training, and staff who move temporarily to move between different NHS organisations more easily and quickly. NHS England will work with stakeholders such as PHIN on the potential to receive information on consultants’ practising privileges.

Action 1.1:

Accepted in principle by the government. In 2018, the Acute Data Alignment Programme (ADAPt) was launched to move towards a common set of standards for data collection, performance measure methodologies and reporting systems across the NHS and the independent sector. It moved into full implementation in December 2022.

The data will be made available for managers and healthcare professionals.

Commitment over the next 12 months to reach a decision on what information can be published.

There are challenges in a single repository which require further work across the system.

The National Consultant Information Programme was established and as of December 2022 was on track to meet the original commitment of reaching all NHS hospitals over a 3-year period.

The Private Health Information Network (an existing body) has published a roadmap and delivery plan (2022-2026) to meet the rest of its mandate to publish performance data on consultants in the independent sector by 2026.

The Health and Care Act 2022 permits NHS Digital to require information from healthcare providers.