‘The NHS Is Broken’: New Data Laws Aim To Fix Healthcare and Boost UK Economy by £10B

Key Takeaways

• The U.K. government has introduced the Data (Use and Access) Bill.
• The new Bill aims to improve access to data across the public and private sectors.
• Provisions of the proposed legislation aim to improve healthcare by streamlining NHS data sharing.

The U.K. government has introduced the Data (Use and Access) Bill, which aims to improve public services by addressing data management inefficiencies.

The new Bill specifically targets the National Health Service (NHS), which Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting described as “broken” in a statement on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

Government Bill to Target NHS

Alongside provisions that impact policing and other public services, the Data Bill aims to simplify the way the NHS shares and manages patient data. 

The proposed legislation’s overarching goal is to reduce the administrative burden on healthcare providers and ensure better-informed decisions at the point of care. 

Enabling Access to NHS Data

A key element of the Data Bill is its focus on enabling access to patient data across the NHS through unified standards. 

According to the government, streamlining patient data-sharing is expected to save up to 140,000 hours of NHS staff time annually. 

“The NHS is broken, but imagine its enormous potential if each part of the system communicated properly with each other,” Streeting stated. “That starts with sharing vital medical records between healthcare providers because it shouldn’t be the patient’s responsibility to join the dots for their doctor.”

£10 Billion Boost to the U.K. Economy

Beyond healthcare, the new Data Bill is designed to have a broad economic impact on public services.

For example, streamlined data sharing between law enforcement and other public bodies could free up approximately 1.5 million hours of police time annually, saving the taxpayer an estimated £42.8 million. 

The bill targets private industries as well as the public sector by enhancing access to customer and business data.

For instance, Section 4 of the bill allows the Secretary of State to require data holders to publish or provide business data to specified recipients, a measure intended to promote transparency and competition across sectors. 

Collectively, the government projects these improvements to add £10 billion to the U.K. economy through increased productivity and innovation.