NHS bosses told to rethink data publishing policies

The Statistics Authority (UKSA) has called on NHS England and NHS Improvement to rethink current policies that delay publishing official data on accident and emergency waiting times.

This news comes after official documents were leaked to BBC News, containing records on A&E performance in January, which suggested the worst performance by hospitals since records began.

Currently, NHS England and the regulator NHS Improvement publish official data six weeks after it is initially collected, after NHS England announced the cycle could be used to ‘standardise reporting arrangements’.

In a letter to Malcom Grant, chairman of NHS England, Ed Humpherson, director general for regulation at UKSA, maintained that leaders needed ‘to determine how you could reduce the time lag in publication’.

The letter said: “This six week lag leaves the system vulnerable to leaks because management information circulates around the NHS system for operational purposes well in advance of the publication of the statistics. This issue is especially pertinent in the winter months, where, given the increased pressures that the system faces, there is considerable public interest in NHS performance and understandably an increased number of management information reports used within the NHS to help manage these pressures.”

A spokesperson for NHS England said: "UKSA has approached the NHS following a leak of unvalidated NHS improvement material to the BBC ahead of its official publication, and NHS Improvement is now considering with other national bodies how best to ensure timely official publication while ensuring this doesn't happen again."