The NHS Federated Data Platform at South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board 

What is it? 

The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) securely connects data that already exists in NHS systems so staff can see the right information in one place and coordinate care more efficiently. The FDP will also help Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to proactively plan and meet the needs of their populations. 

‘Federation’ means that each NHS organisation has its own secure area (referred to as an ‘instance’) within the platform. Only when the right permissions, legal requirements and approvals are in place can data be shared between these segregated areas. This means that each NHS organisation maintains control of its own data, but can collaborate when it is lawful, safe and beneficial for patients. 

The FDP is described as a central pillar of NHS England’s digital strategy and the 10‑Year Health Plan, supporting the shift towards a more digitally enabled, prevention‑focused health and care system. The plan emphasises that digital foundations—such as the FDP—are essential for transforming care delivery, improving efficiency and supporting new models of care across community and hospital settings 

Click here to view detailed information about the FDP, published by NHS England. 

FAQs

Read more Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the NHS Federated Data Platform at NHS South Yorkshire below.

The ICB’s area within the FDP only contains data that are collected nationally by NHS England for Second Uses, which include healthcare planning and commissioning of services, and national statistics. The ICB is not currently flowing any locally-collected datasets (including General Practice data) into the FDP. 

For the Integrated Care Board’s use, the data we work with are ‘pseudonymised’. This means personal identifiers — such as names, dates of birth, NHS numbers or addresses — are replaced with codes before they are used within the platform. Staff using the platform, therefore, cannot identify individual people. In addition, strict controls are used to grant access to the platform, as necessary, for a clearly defined purpose. 

South Yorkshire ICB has signed up to pilot the Strategic Commissioning Tool (SCT) within the FDP. This tool supports evidence‑based planning to help the ICB understand service demand, capacity, and population needs more effectively. The pilot will help us understand how the tool can: 

  • Segment our population to understand their characteristics and resource utilisation levels, helping to prioritise opportunities to improve care 

  • Benchmark resource utilisation and outcomes across different population segments and peer groups to identify who could benefit the most from interventions 

  • Forecast need for the segmented population cohorts 1-5 years into the future 

  • Model scenarios for potential interventions and estimate their potential impact on health outcomes and resource utilisation as part of healthcare resource optimisation 

Like other ICBs, South Yorkshire ICB owns and maintains its own secure data platform in addition to the FDP. This platform is used to undertake analysis of data to support commissioning and evaluation of services for patients. This includes monitoring the quality and performance of services or analysing the costs of service delivery, so that we can improve outcomes for patients. The data the ICB uses are collected nationally by NHS England as part of the Data Services for Commissioners, which provides datasets for the ICB to use in performing its statutory duties. In addition, the ICB's in-house data platform receives data from General Practice, which can be linked to other commissioning datasets to better understand patient needs and outcomes. The use of this platform is linked to the Integrated Care System Data and Insight Strategy. 

Like the FDP, the data the ICB holds within its own data platform and works with are ‘pseudonymised’. 

> Click here to read the ICB’s Privacy Notice or learn about how we use patient data. 

Every NHS trust and ICB that uses the FDP is the data controller for its own local area (‘instance’) of the platform. This means each organisation decides: 

  • what data go into its instance, 

  • who can access that data, and 

  • how the data are used for approved purposes. 

NHS England is the controller for the separate national FDP instance, used for national planning and operational oversight. 

 

The FDP is a national programme procured and contracted by NHS England. NHS England manages the national contract with the supplier on behalf of the health and care system 

> Click here for further details about the contract and procurement process.