As government embarks on 18 months of work to bring the central health service entity into government, a minister has tackled questions about the potential impact on tech and data
The abolition of NHS England will not hinder the development of digital tools, nor damage the cybersecurity credentials of the health service, a minister has insisted.
The government announced six months ago that it intended to scrap NHS England as an independent entity, and merge the national body into the Department of Health and Social Care. This unification is scheduled to be completed by March 2027.
The announcement comes following several years in which the health service has already been consolidated, with specialised dedicated tech units – NHS Digital and NHSx – being folded into the wider NHS England operation, in a process that concluded in early 2023.
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With the former centres of concentrated technological expertise now set to be further diluted, Conservative MP – and NHS consultant paediatrician – Dr Caroline Johnson asked the DHSC what impact scrapping NHS England might have on digital services and “the retention of patient data” across the health service.
In response, Dr Zubir Ahmed – recently appointed as a junior minister in the health department, and also an NHS consultant transplant surgeon – claimed that the pending move of central NHS operations into government will not harm digital and data services.
“The merger of NHS England into the department will not prevent us continuing to deliver the digital services on which the National Health Service relies, maintaining the highest standards of cybersecurity and ensuring patient data continues to be appropriately and safely stored,” Ahmed said. “Legislation will make provision as necessary, with parliament’s approval, to transfer the statutory responsibilities of NHS England to the department.”
