NHS England has awarded the Single Patient Record contract to CGI IT UK Ltd.
This is the UK subsidiary of the Canadian tech firm.
The one-year interim technology contract is worth £47.7m and includes the design, build, and support of the core "single patient record" (SPR) platform, HSJ and Digital Health reported.
The year will run from 2nd November 2026 until 1st November 2027.
The SPR aims to be the backbone of medical data in the UK. It will be a national, interoperable digital infrastructure that will be a central hub for NHS trusts' systems to access.
The aim is for patients to not have to repeat medical histories due to lack of communication between facilities and trusts.
Legal and organisational framework of the SPR
The infrastructure initiative would be under the control of the Transforming and Connecting Care (TCC) programme.
The TCC programme is not directly named in the NHS Modernisation Bill (also known as the Health Bill 2026). However, the Bill provides the essential legal powers needed to deliver the programme's main goal: the SPR.
The Bill is currently moving through the House of Lords to provide the legal framework requiring NHS organisations and GP practices to share patient information.
As of today, it is at the "committee stage".
Patient information is the sticking point in progressing the SPR at the moment.
A BMJ (British Medical Journal) article in May expressed concerns about the safety of this data within an SPR framework.
To accomplish the SPR, the bill requires GPs and NHS organisations to hand over patient data access to the Health Secretary to control.
In the BMJ article, doctors and health experts were alarmed about these plans and how it would erode some patients' trust in their care practitioners. This may lead to worsening outcomes for these patients.
