Summary

The objective of the Digital Child Programme (DCH) is to modernise the exchange of child health information in support of the Depart of Health’s public health programme for children, the Healthy Child Programme.  As such, the programme intends to implement event-based, publish-subscribe messaging for Digital Child Health, e.g. immunisations and an electronic red book.

The technical approach to supporting interoperability being developed by NHS Digital uses four national capabilities:

• National Events Management Service (NEMS) [national infrastructure providing content-based event routing]
• National Record Locator Service (NRLS) [national infrastructure providing an index of record locations]
• Healthy Child Connect API [standard API specification to access a child’s care record]
• Spine Secure Proxy (SSP) [national infrastructure controlling and protecting access to GP principal IT systems]
  

The actors involved in the sharing of the child health information in the scope of DCH are direct care settings and a single administrative setting (Child Health Organisations, also known as Child Health Record Departments).

The DCH programme is primarily making existing provider processes involving the discovery, sending and retrieving of information more efficient, effective and economic by standardising the data representation for exchange and putting in place standard interoperability capabilities. However, it is expected that after operational adoption, existing provider processes will evolve to take advantage of the new opportunities and benefits afforded by the interoperability capabilities, leading to, hopefully, improved patient outcomes. The re-engineering of any provider processes or creation of standard operating models is NOT in the scope of DCH, the programme is just enabling interoperability.

To support the implementation of the capabilities for DCH an ISN (DCB3009) will be issued. An Information Standards Notice (ISN) is expected to be published in two phases to reflect the changes Digital Child Health intends to make; 

Phase 1

PRSB Standards Compliance with a ‘full conformance date’ of 1st December 2019. This is to allow for supplier release and deployment within one year from the issuance of the ISN, which was published on 13th December 2018. Most suppliers will have very little to do as the standards were built on common historical record structures and many have already adopted the Snomed standard.

Phase 2

Information about Phase 2 can be accessed here. 

Documentation

The requirements specification, implementation guidance, record specification, event specification and compliance letter are all available on NHS Digital's website.

Some work in progress documentation is available on the NHS Developer Network:

• Introduction to the events management service
• Introduction to Digital Child Health Event Messages 

GP systems will be both publishers of and subscribers to events.

Further guidance can be obtained via the Professional Records Standards Body's (PRSB) Healthy Child Record site, including the proposed child health and events specifications.

Assurance Approach

Completion and return of the DCH compliance letter is all that is required as confirmation that a Supplier is compliant with DCB3009 Amd 32/2017 Healthy Child Record Standards ISN Phase 1 (published 13th December 2018 and updated 9th January 2020). To ensure compliance is achieved by the effective date of 30th June 2020, the letter should be returned on or before that date.