Website of the Department of Health

Executive summary

1.  Implementation of the renal services information strategy will help deliver the National Service Framework (NSF) for Renal Services through the provision of tools and resources. In particular, the information strategy supports the NSF around national comparative audit and provision of nationally available data to support planning and identify local priorities.

2.  The information strategy consists of a series of tables containing national and related local actions developed to support Part 1 of the NSF which addresses kidney transplantation and dialysis for people with established renal failure. Each action, where appropriate, is linked to further information that explains the background to and the reasoning behind the action.

3.  The tables are divided into themed sections as follows:

Section 1: Information for direct care of the patient

4.  The national and local actions in Section 1 have been developed to take into account the plans of the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT), in particular the plans for a national spine record (National Actions 1.1 to 1.3). Trusts with Renal Services are encouraged to work with the Local Service Providers (LSP) under the National Care Records Service programme (Local Actions 1.1 and 1.2).

5.  The national and local actions in Section 1 also pick up the theme of the development of care plans (National Action 1.4 and Local Actions 1.3 and 1.4).

6.  Patients will be able to see their registration to receive a transplant on the transplant list and to check their status (National Action 1.5).

7.  Trusts with renal services are encouraged to examine the issues surrounding the sharing of information and to use the results to ensure that the interests of patients, donors and care professionals are recognised and properly safeguarded (Local Action 1.5).

8.  Trusts with renal services are encouraged to provide care professionals with decision support at the point of care (Local Action 1.6).

Section 2: Information for secondary purposes

9.  The data that will reach the national spine record will be derived from datasets approved by the NHS Information Standards Board (National Actions 2.1 and 2.2). Trusts with renal services are encouraged to ensure that data required for secondary purposes can be collected and submitted electronically and in accordance with the approved datasets (Local Action 2.1 and 2.2).

10.  National comparative audit and national data to support planning and to identify local priorities are addressed in National Actions 2.3 to 2.6 and Local Actions 2.3 to 2.5.

Section 3: Access to knowledge

11.  The national actions in this section discuss the provision by the Department of Health of a national website of information links (National Action 3.1) and a series of actions for the National electronic Library for Health, NHS Direct Online and NHS Direct (National Actions 3.2 to 3.8).

12.  The local actions in this section encourage the development and provision of information for patients, carers and the public (Local Action 3.1) together with the necessary IT infrastructure to make this possible (Local Action 3.5).

Section 4: Training and development

13.  The National Health Informatics Development (NHID) programme of the NHS Information Authority will lead on the development of a renal informatics special interest group (National Action 4.1) and a series of educational packages in the use of systems and for career development in support of staff within the renal community (National Actions 4.2 and 4.3).

14.  Locally Trusts with renal services are encouraged to offer their staff appropriate training and support in developing their skills and knowledge (Local Action 4.1) and to ensure that patients understand how to access and use the information that they receive (Local Action 4.2). Similarly PCTs are encouraged to ensure that GP surgeries provide online access to information for their patients (Local Action 4.3).