Daily Insight: When sharing is not caring

“Information governance” is a term that makes most clinicians and managers shiver, and – yet again – the NHS has fallen foul of its complex rules.

In a letter to integrated care boards earlier this month, the national data guardian Nicola Byrne warned “some local record sharing programmes” have breached confidentiality laws in their processing of patients’ data.

This has been done by sending data to such shared care records for direct care purposes (allowed), with the data eventually ending up in a third-party-hosted secure data environment created for secondary purposes such as planning and research (not allowed).

The example was cited as one of four concerns raised with the NDG by health and care staff worried patients’ data was being used unlawfully.

While acknowledging the importance of sharing records, Dr Byrne warned ICBs about the even greater importance of ensuring they have the legal basis for doing so.

Amid concern from some quarters about the confidentiality of patient data following the merger between NHS Digital and NHS England, the timing of these failures is not good.

Failure to comply results in more public scepticism about the NHS’s ability to share data appropriately, which helps no one.

More power to you

Just a few months after they became statutory bodies, integrated care systems are to have their powers and efficiency scrutinised by a former Labour health secretary.

Patricia Hewitt has been asked to carry out the review of ICSs with a view to giving them greater autonomy.

Ms Hewitt, now the chair of Norfolk and Waveney ICS, will conduct her review rapidly over the next few weeks as the government wants her recommendations included in the NHSE planning guidance for 2023-24, which is normally published around Christmas.

She will report to health and social care secretary Steve Barclay, but HSJ understands that chancellor Jeremy Hunt has also been closely involved in developing the review and its remit.

HSJ understands that the terms of the review set by government will also ask Ms Hewitt to explore how the number of central targets which ICSs and their member organisations have to comply with can be reduced. They will ask her to suggest ways that oversight from NHSE can be reduced at all but the most fragile systems and trusts.