The National Data Guardian (NDG) Nicola Byrne is seeking views from health and care professionals on the single patient record, with findings to be incorporated into a report published to the NDG website in Autumn 2026.
In particular, the survey is looking to explore what is required for the system to “earn the trust and support of health and care professionals from day one”.
Respondents are asked about the records or information systems they access as part of their work, how often they experience challenges in accessing information when they need it, and the impact they think a national single patient record would have on their work across areas like coordination of care.
The survey moves on to discuss concerns about the introduction of the single patient record, allowing respondents to score their feelings on a scale from “very concerned” to “not at all concerned” about issues like responsibility for information entered into the record, conflicting information, time needed to adopt a new digital record system, and reduced trust in how information may be used in future for purposes other than direct care.
“If a national single patient record were introduced, what, if anything, do you think might change in your day-to-day practice?” the NDG asks. It also looks to proposals that people using the single patient record to deliver care would not be subject to a legal duty of confidentiality to promote information sharing, asking about potential positive or negative impacts on patients and service users.
The final question seeks to understand what kind of safeguards would be needed for health and care professionals to feel confident using and advocating for the use of the single patient record in future for purposes other than direct care, such as health research.
The deadline for responses to be submitted is 5pm on Friday 9 October, 2026.
“Your views will help ensure that the advice I give government on the Single Patient Record is informed by frontline experience,” states the NDG. “The findings will be incorporated into a report that will be published on the National Data Guardian website this autumn.”
Wider trend: Single patient record
The DHSC has conducted an impact assessment designed to support proposed legislation for the Single Patient Record (SPR) contained in the recent Health Bill, and assess impact across nine protected characteristics including disability, sex, race, and sexual orientation. The record is designed to “significantly reduce” the admin burden on clinicians, it states, supporting better-informed decision-making and more coordinated care, including, in the future, adult social care. For patients and service users, it is intended to improve experience and care, with access to be offered through the NHS App by 2028 to full medical history, test results, appointment and test booking, medicines and vaccinations management, and support for long-term conditions.
The Health Bill second reading at the House of Commons has attracted a number of questions and comments from MPs around data privacy, modernisation, technology, health inequalities, and the Single Patient Record. Introducing the Bill, secretary of state for health and social care James Murray answered questions from those in attendance, highlighting ambitions “through local health watches across the country…to bring the voice of patients closer to the people who plan and deliver services”. The Bill is intended to modernise the NHS and reduce inequalities, Murray continued. “As a Labour Government, our priority is to boost investment and to modernise the NHS for the future. It is exactly that combination of investment and reform that will deliver the health service that constituents need and deserve.”
A report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has focused on the single patient record, with recommendations for end of life care as an initial use case. Ombudsman Paula Sussex says: “Nowhere is strong communication more important than in the provision of end of life care. When systems and teams communicate well, patients are more likely to receive the right care at the right time and clinicians are better equipped to navigate the complexities of moving between different care settings. When patients and families are given clear explanations, and when crucial conversations happen early and with sensitivity, they feel supported and better equipped to face the next steps, however difficult they may be.” Based on experiences of families and clinicians, Sussex makes recommendations across three areas: confident, skilled, and compassionate communication with patients and families at the right time; clear outcome measurement including patient and family voices; and effective information sharing between teams and care settings.
