NHS records overhaul could cut A&E visits by 20,000 a year

A national single patient record could keep up to 20,000 people a year out of A&E, cut 6,000 hospital admissions and save the NHS more than £20 million, according to government projections. Ministers say the prize is not just speed, but safer care: fewer medication errors, fewer adverse drug reactions and less duplicate prescribing, with doctors gaining around 500,000 hours a year as patient information becomes available instantly.

The plan would force NHS providers, including hospitals and GPs, to share data so clinicians across England can see a patient’s medical history wherever that person is treated. Government papers describe the single patient record as a central element of the 10 Year Health Plan for England and say it is meant to give patients more control over their information, including the ability to see who has accessed their record, manage sharing preferences and, in some cases, correct details. The record is expected to begin with primary and secondary care data before expanding to adult social care over time.

The NHS Modernisation Bill was due to be debated in Parliament on Monday 1 June 2026, with ministers presenting the overhaul as part of a wider effort to shift the health service from analogue to digital. Officials say England’s health and care data remain fragmented after decades of piecemeal IT development and outdated information-sharing rules. The impact assessment says the record is intended for every person who has visited an NHS health professional in England, and that existing powers are not comprehensive enough to support the system ministers want.

The policy is being sold against a grim operational backdrop. Government figures say the elective waiting list stood at 7.6 million in September 2024, more than 3 million people had waited over 18 weeks, and 10% of patients were waiting 12 hours or more in A&E. Ministers argue that a single record could improve flow through the system by giving staff a fuller picture at the point of care, reducing repeat tests and speeding treatment decisions.

But the politics of the reform are already about trust as much as efficiency. The British Medical Association said GPs had not been part of discussions on what form the record would take, who would access it, what it would be used for or which company might run it. It also pressed for full patient-facing audit trails in the NHS App showing who accessed confidential data and why. Understanding Patient Data said the harder question is not whether a more joined-up record is desirable, but whether ministers can make it governable, trusted and workable in practice. That is the test now facing the government’s promise of a more connected NHS.