Our 10-Year Health Plan will transform the National Health Service, shifting care from analogue to digital. We know that patients, including those with a learning disability, often have to tell their story at every appointment. The single patient record means that they will only need to tell it once. The record will improve secure access for patients and clinicians and ensure seamless treatment across the NHS. This will connect a patient’s health history in one secure place, accessible through the NHS App. Patients will get a legal right to access their single patient record by default and will be able to check their own information and alert clinicians where there are errors.

In addition, the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag was developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments, across the NHS and social care, wherever the person is seen or treated.

On 30 June 2025, a revised Accessible Information Standard was published. It describes how NHS and adult social care services should identify, record, flag, share, meet, and review people’s information and communication support needs. The revised Accessible Information Standard is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/accessible-information-standard/

In 2024, NHS England also published guidance on health and care passports, which are designed to be a quick and easy way to give health and social care professionals more information about people with a learning disability and other disabled people so that they can provide the right care and treatment. The guidance on health and care passports is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/health-and-care-passports/

The current Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention from the last administration, and this Government is focused upon improving Armed Forces recruitment, modernising and refining our policies and processes to attract the best possible talent. Defence is committed to reducing the time taken for candidates to pass through Armed Forces recruitment processes and enter service. Access to medical records is one of the main frictions in current Armed Forces recruitment processes, adding time into candidates’ progress through their application journey. To reduce this friction we are actively taking steps to optimise relevant processes working with the Department for Health and Social Care. This is already delivering results with shorter wait times.

We are working across Government to increase efficiency in general practices (GPs) and the patient experience by removing red tape and streamlining, or removing, requests to GPs for medical evidence where possible, aiming to free up more GP time to care for patients. This includes improving and helping speed up processes through digital solutions for the sharing of medical records for recruitment to the armed forces, whilst work continues towards the introduction of a new Armed Forces Recruitment Service by 2027.

When an individual leaves the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the importance of facilitating the transfer of healthcare information to their civilian healthcare provider(s).

On leaving Defence Medical Services (DMS) care, Service personnel are provided with a medical care summary, known as an FMed133, and advised to register with an NHS GP and provide them a copy of their FMED 133.

If a patient’s full DMS health record is required, this is provided on request from their NHS GP. Given this and that some records are never requested, no accurate estimate can be made of the average time from discharge to the receipt of the medical records by the NHS GP.

To improve the transfer of healthcare information, DMS is working towards the greater interoperability with NHS systems and the electronic transfer of medical records from DMS to NHS GPs and expects to implement changes over the next 1-2 years.

When an individual leaves the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the importance of facilitating the transfer of healthcare information to their civilian healthcare provider(s).

On leaving Defence Medical Services (DMS) care, Service personnel are provided with a medical care summary, known as an FMed133, and advised to register with an NHS GP and provide them a copy of their FMED 133.

If a patient’s full DMS health record is required, this is provided on request from their NHS GP. Given this and that some records are never requested, no accurate estimate can be made of the average time from discharge to the receipt of the medical records by the NHS GP.

To improve the transfer of healthcare information, DMS is working towards the greater interoperability with NHS systems and the electronic transfer of medical records from DMS to NHS GPs and expects to implement changes over the next 1-2 years.

When an individual leaves the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the importance of facilitating the transfer of healthcare information to their civilian healthcare provider(s).

On leaving Defence Medical Services (DMS) care, Service personnel are provided with a medical care summary, known as an FMed133, and advised to register with an NHS GP and provide them a copy of their FMED 133.

If a patient’s full DMS health record is required, this is provided on request from their NHS GP. Given this and that some records are never requested, no accurate estimate can be made of the average time from discharge to the receipt of the medical records by the NHS GP.

To improve the transfer of healthcare information, DMS is working towards the greater interoperability with NHS systems and the electronic transfer of medical records from DMS to NHS GPs and expects to implement changes over the next 1-2 years.