NHS Federated Data Platform

How we are using the NHS Federated Data Platform

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being open and transparent about how we use data. This page explains how we are currently using the national NHS Federated Data Platform, what services are involved, and where you can find more information about privacy and data protection.

What is the NHS Federated Data Platform?

The NHS Federated Data Platform, often shortened to FDP, is a national NHS programme that provides software to help NHS organisations bring together operational data that is currently held in different systems. This can support staff to access the information they need in one safe and secure environment, helping NHS organisations plan services, improve care and work more efficiently.

Palantir is one of the companies providing software for the national FDP and was appointed by NHS England following a public procurement process. All Trusts are expected to use FDP and decisions on the future of the NHS Federated Data Platform contract are for Government to take.

Further information about the FDP, including how data is protected, is available in the NHS England FDP privacy notice.

How Torbay and South Devon is currently using the FDP

At present, our involvement in the FDP is limited to submitting data for national returns, specifically Referral to Treatment data, the Virtual Wards dataset and the National Cost Collection exercise. The National Cost Collection supports national tariff pricing and benchmarking across NHS providers.

We do not currently operate our own local FDP instance.

Further uses of the FDP may be developed to support patient care and reduce waiting times. Any new uses would be subject to our data security and information governance processes.

How we protect your data

We take data security and information governance very seriously. Any FDP product or data flow must go through our established information governance checks before it is used. These checks help make sure that data is processed, managed, stored and disposed of safely and lawfully. Any data that we share through the FDP with the NHS integrated care board (ICB) or with NHS England for planning purposes is de-identified. This means that personal details like name, address, and date of birth are removed to protect your privacy.

To find out more about how we handle personal data, including how to exercise your rights or contact our Data Protection Officer, please see our Patient and service user privacy notice.