Data Services for Commissioners

NHS Digital has been directed by NHS England to establish and operate an information system for the collection and analysis of local commissioning data, clinical registry data and historic Primary Care Trust data to deliver data services for commissioners.

Commissioners of healthcare services need to plan and commission services in their local area through analysis of actual and projected use of those services. This requires the use of patient-level information and in order to satisfy legal requirements, an intermediary service must be used to process, analyse and package this patient-level information into a format which commissioners can legally use.

This intermediary service is provided by the Data Services for Commissioners programme through the Data Services for Commissioners Regional Offices (DSCROs). This notice sets out information for the ongoing submission of relevant data which healthcare providers must comply with.

The specification, format and frequency of all Local Collections will be agreed between Provider and Commissioner in Schedule 6a of the National Contract – Local Requirements reported Locally. All submissions between any Provider and Commissioner pairing will be specified in an individual contract between each pair.

All local flows of record level confidential patient information must flow to an NHS Digital Data Services for Commissioners Regional Office (DSCRO) for processing before onwards dissemination to the relevant commissioner. 

Find out more about this programme.

This notice applies to any healthcare provider which has contracted with a commissioner and has an obligation, set out in Schedule 6 of the NHS Standard Contract, to report in accordance with local collections reported locally.