National Standards & Good Practice Guides

The following links are provided to help suppliers best understand the current best practices throughout the IT industry when provisioning, deploying and operating their infrastructure and services.

None of the below links and documents will be used for any assurance activities unless otherwise stated in other documentation.

National Standards

https://data.standards.nhs.uk/

Use this directory to find nationally recognised data standards for use in health and adult social care.

You can browse by Care Setting, Topic or Type as well as source information related to Future Standards, additional information and guidance for Standards, as well as Help and Resources.

Implementation

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-technology-code-of-practice - The Technology Code of Practice is a set of criteria to help government design, build and buy technology

https://www.gov.uk/service-toolkit - The central hub for information on designing, building and running services that meet government standards

https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/ - Find technology or people for digital projects in the public sector

https://buyingcatalogue.digital.nhs.uk/ - The NHS Buying Catalogue is an online marketplace where buyers can purchase clinical information systems that meet digital needs in healthcare

https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard - The baseline GOV.UK standards for public services

https://service-manual.nhs.uk/standards-and-technology/service-standard - The NHS companion to the GOV.UK Service Standard designed to help teams:

• meet the GOV.UK service standard - service manual

• address the different needs of health service users

• navigate the complexities of delivering digital services in health and care

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/cloud-centre-of-excellence - NHS England Cloud Centre of Excellence

https://github.com/NHSDigital/software-engineering-quality-framework - NHS England Software Engineering Quality Framework

https://www.england.nhs.uk/digital-gp-good-practice-guidance/ - Provides information required to use digital tools and services effectively, safely and in accordance with the law and other national standards.

https://nhse-dsic.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DCSDCS/pages/14486798337

Security

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/ - The National Cyber Security Centre

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/cyber-security-design-principles - Guides for the design of cyber secure systems

https://www.security.gov.uk/policy-and-guidance/secure-by-design/principles/ - The foundations required for embedding cyber security practices in digital delivery and building resilient digital services.

https://www.cpni.gov.uk/ - Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/software-security-code-of-practice/software-vendors - Organisations that develop or sell software can use the Software Code of Practice to demonstrate to potential customers that their products are resilient to common cyber attacks.

Document Formats

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-open-document-formats-odf-in-your-organisation - introduction to the Open Document Format (ODF) standard and how you can select ODF-compliant solutions

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/planning-content#open-formats - GDS Content design: planning, writing and managing content

Proxy Verification and Authentication

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/information-standards/information-standards-and-data-collections-including-extractions/publications-and-notifications/standards-and-collections/dcb3051-identity-verification-and-authentication-standard-for-digital-health-and-care-services - provides for a consistent approach to identity management across digital health and care services, covering: verification, authentication and clinical authorisation.