Tech leaders at the NHS have announced a new staff collaboration platform called NHS.net Connect that's designed to help staff work together and improve security.
John McGhie, head of collaboration services at NHS England, shared details of the new platform on Linkedin.
He wrote: "This new service will provide seamless, secure, and integrated communication tools tailored to meet the unique needs of NHS staff. Whether you're in a trust, GP surgery, or Community setting, NHS.net Connect will empower you to collaborate effortlessly and stay connected like never before.
"With NHS.net Connect, we’re not just upgrading technology—we’re enabling better teamwork, faster decision-making, and ultimately, improved patient care."
McGhie uploaded a presentation that provided further details of the platform, saying it will "weave a tapestry of formidable security and unwavering compliance throughout all digital communications as part of the centrally funded offering."
It will drive down costs by centralising the purchase of key licenses and integrate with key identity systems to improve security through "advanced message encryption", conditional access for MFA, compromised accounts detection and single sign-on SSO.
The platform also uses a range of Microsoft Copilots to handle everything from Github development to patient support as well as a central testing environment and "marketplace" to "crowdsource the very best applications and ideas".
Staff will be able to communicate via the dreaded Teams app, which will feature shared channels enabling NHS employees to invite people working inside and outside of the health services to collaborate.
On LinkedIn, Gary McAllister, Chief Information Technology Officer of Dell Technologies, described the platform as: "Internationally exemplary - led by an amazing bunch of people."
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John Quinn, NHS CIO, said: "As we look to help our 1.8m users deliver improved patient care, better decision making and increased productivity across the NHS, this National platform and the services that will sit on it, gives us a generational opportunity to deliver for our customers."
In September, the NHS has announced plans to spend a further £1 billion on hardware, software and services - taking its total spend on the "digital workplace solutions 2" project to £2.5 billion.
It published an upgraded contract notice announcing that extra cash is now available, adding to the £1.5 billion announced in a prior information notice in August 2023.
The added investment comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to focus on "moving from an analogue to a digital NHS".
That means turning its app into a "whole digital front door to the NHS" and "putting patients in control of their own data" by rolling out "fully digital patient records" - no small matter in an institution in which as many as three-quarters of trusts in England still rely on paper patient notes and drug charts.
