Drop-In: May through Sep 2026

[Charlee_Martin]

The fortnightly Onboarding Drop-in session is for organisations interested in staying up to date around NIR rollout or currently onboarding. The sessions are about connecting with people who understand your journey, sharing solutions, and accessing useful content like you would when there were offices to drop-in to!

Here, you’ll find out what has been discussed in recent sessions and access updates from the NIR team. You can also express your interest in joining the drop-in session by sending a message to Charlee.

They occur on a Tuesday from 3pm-4pm. You don’t have to stay for the full hour - drop in any time to ask questions and get briefed.

The next drop-in sessions:

• 18 August 2026
• 1 September 2026
• 15 September 2026
• 29 September 2026
• 13 October 2026
• 27 October 2026

[Adam_Strickland]

@Charlee_Martin

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Hi Charlee, were there any topics from the May 19th session?

[Charlee_Martin]

Hi Adam,

Thanks for reaching out! The next XCA Drop-in is on Tuesday, 26th of May, 3pm to 4pm. You would be very welcome to join.

At the previous session on the 12th of May, we covered:

• welcoming our new Product Owner, Cherie Norton

• confirmation that NIR is now live for digital onboarding through the NHSE Digital Onboarding Service as part of the developer and integration hub

• the launch of the NIR supplier Slack channel, which provides a dedicated space for supplier teams to collaborate with the NIR team during onboarding and beyond

• how we will use the Developer Community to stay in contact with Trusts and share updates

• the upcoming Developer Community refresh, which is being led by our Product Owner and is planned throughout June and July

• the Digital Diagnostics Capability Programme FutureNHS page, which provides information on the wider and the Letter of Agreement process for funding

• confirmation that onboarding organisations can access the Letter of Agreement from 13 May

As usual, the session also included some useful collaborative troubleshooting. Following those discussions, we are preparing a supplier survey on reporting and imaging architecture, and those insights should help us understand more about how people are viewing / accessing images within their native systems.

I believe I have your email address, so I’ll also contact you directly to make sure you’re added to the invite and to discuss where we are with NIR, and perhaps your company coming onboard!

[Charlee_Martin]

Highlights

[Charlee_Martin]

Highlights

[Charlee_Martin]

Onboarding Drop-In Session: 8th July 2026

The XCA Drop-In session has been updated and renamed to focus on healthcare organisation onboarding.

This means the session is now for NHS and private healthcare organisations who are interested in the NIR Service or preparing to onboard to the NIR.

If you are an NHS or private healthcare organisation and would like to attend future Onboarding Drop-In’s, please email england.nirdelivery@nhs.net to be added to the invite.

Suppliers will continue to be supported through separate supplier meetings, Slack, and the Developer Community. For more information about joining the NIR Supplier Meeting or arranging a regular 1:1 NIR <> supplier relationship session, please email charlee.martin3@nhs.net.

Key Update - Duplicates policy

The Handling Duplicate Imaging Within the National Imaging Registry (NIR) is now complete, and due to be added to our Governance page soon. An email will be sent out to everyone in the Onboarding Drop-In once it’s live.

The Governance webpage has undergone significant update which will be live no later than the 16th July 2026.

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Question’s raised at the last drop-in

Funding

Q: Is there funding available for NIR onboarding?
Yes, through the Digital Diagnostics Capability (DDC) programme Letter of Agreement (LOA) process.

Trusts and Networks are being contacted proactively by the DDC programme to arrange tailored meetings and walk organisations through the process.

Your supplier is expected to support you in your funding bid, and they have been briefed separately via the NIR product team.

Q: Who should we contact if we want to understand the LOA process?
Please contact the DDC programme at england.diagnostics.ddcp@nhs.net.

Q: Is the funding Trust-led or Network-led?
This depends on what works best for your region. The governance of the funding doesn’t impact on your ability to connect to the NIR.

Funding drop approach can be discussed in more detail with the DDC Programme during your 1:1 engagement calls.

Connection approach

Q: Is it better to connect the PACS or RIS to NIR?
NIR does not dictate the connection approach. We connect at any level that allows for the free-flow of diagnostic images and results for direct care.

The best route will depend on local workflow, clinical need and supplier architecture. Some areas may find it advantageous to connect both the PACS and the RIS.

Healthcare organisations should work with their clinicians, suppliers and local teams to agree the most appropriate direction of travel.

Clinical involvement

Q: Should clinicians attend the onboarding Drop-In?
Is the NHS logo blue? Of course!

NIR is intended to make things easier for clinicians, so clinical input is vitally important.

Clinicians are a key stakeholder in onboarding. Their presence at onboarding meetings is welcomed and encouraged. If you would like to join the onboarding meetings as a clinician or any other critical role, email england.nirdelivery@nhs.net to be added to the invite. Additionally, if there are any specific topics you’d like to discuss, let us know so we can tailor a session.

Supplier Engagement Map

See below map of NIR supplier engagement activity. In the future we’ll bring back a graph depicting healthcare organisation engagement as well.

[Charlee_Martin]

Onboarding Drop-In Session: 21st July 2026

The session was focused on new webpage changes. We also had a good discussion around performance for NIR and the Letter of Agreement process.

Governance Pages

We’ve made a number of updates to the NIR Governance webpage, which are now live:

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-imaging-registry/governance

All sections will be useful to organisations (and their suppliers) onboarding to NIR, but the following may be of particular interest:

Clinical Safety Documentation
This section includes the NIR product-level Clinical Risk Management Plan, Clinical Safety Case Report and Hazard Log:

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-imaging-registry/governance#clinical-safety-documentation

Deployment Safety Responsibilities
This outlines the respective clinical safety responsibilities of suppliers and healthcare organisations when deploying NIR.

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-imaging-registry/governance#deployment-safety-responsibilities

Essential Clinical Safety Templates
This section includes key deployment resources, including:

• Template DCB0160
• NIR Clinical Safety Guidance
• Handling of Duplicate Imaging Policy

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-imaging-registry/governance#essential-clinical-safety-templates

Information Governance Documentation
Key IG templates are available here:

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-imaging-registry/governance#ig-documentation

Guidance on completing your local Data Protection Impact Assessment is available here:

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-imaging-registry/governance#data-protection-impact-assessment-dpia-

Organisations currently onboarding to NIR will receive a controlled copy of the NIR template DPIA emailed separately.

Functional Capabilities

Please review the updated NIR Functional Capabilities webpage, particularly “Testing functional capabilities of NIR.” This explains the distinction between supplier technical conformance testing and the organisation’s responsibility to test the supplier’s implementation within its local system, including success and failure scenarios.

We also recommend reviewing the NIR Project Background. Although this page has been available for some time, it provides useful context on the discovery, Alpha, user research and technical engagement that have shaped the service.

Discussion points during Drop-In

Performance
The current NIR SLA is for a query to return within two seconds. Image and report retrieval is a separate and more complex consideration, partly dependent on the responsiveness and egress performance of the source system. Retrieval performance is therefore being considered through our cross-functional design group. Our aim is for NIR to improve significantly on current methods of obtaining known external imaging and reports, which can take hours or days.

Connections and use cases
NIR currently uses IHE profiles to connect into existing PACS and RIS environments. We are also exploring relevant use cases involving teleradiology providers, Shared Care Records, EPRs and other clinical systems. NIR does not have a preferred technology route for connection; we connect at the level required to achieve clinical benefit.

Letter of Agreement
The Digital Diagnostics Capability (DDC) Programme is contacting Networks and Trusts to discuss the Letter of Agreement process in more detail. If you have not yet received a meeting invitation and believe your organisation should have, please reply to this post and let us know.

[Charlee_Martin]

Thank you to everyone who joined the latest NIR Onboarding Drop-In. We had several positive updates, including progress across supplier onboarding and regional engagement.

Supplier Position

Suppliers are actively engaged with the NIR product team and are progressing through regular engagement activity to support onboarding readiness. This includes structured supplier product meetings, scheduled 1:1 check-ins, and ad hoc discussions to resolve questions, confirm delivery approaches, and maintain momentum.

We are continuing to engage the remaining suppliers across the market and are also undertaking a teleradiology proof of concept to explore additional routes for NIR connectivity. If there is a supplier you would like the NIR team to contact, please email england.nirdelivery@nhs.net.

Regional NIR Engagement Position

The regional engagement map is an indicative, live planning view rather than a fixed delivery commitment. It reflects how engagement is currently unfolding and will continue to change as regional plans, local readiness, supplier dependencies and onboarding sequences become clearer. Some areas may progress more quickly than shown, while others may require additional time - which is expected.

Although the map is structured around imaging networks, delivery is not always taking place at network level. Many organisations are choosing to connect Trust by Trust, so the map cannot fully represent the precise engagement or onboarding position of every individual Trust. The information will therefore be refined over time as organisational plans and delivery routes are confirmed.

Legend:

Onboarding: Entered Digital Onboarding Service

Now: Planned engagements happening now / scheduling for now

Next: Next engagements to be scheduled

Later: Later engagement (this can easily be moved forward)

If you would like to know where your Trust fits on the map, please email england.nirdelivery@nhs.net.

Onboarding guidance

Several attendees requested a copy of the onboarding pack. The relevant guidance and supporting information are available on the NIR onboarding guidance page.

There are updates scheduled for the relevant onboarding webpages which are planned for next week. They include:

Governance page:

• clarification of the historic data requirements for NIR
• re-upload of the duplicate records policy.

Onboarding page:

• version 7 of the supplier onboarding guidance and version 6 of the Trust onboarding guidance (minor tweaks)
• an updated supplier use-case form.
• clearer guidance on the steps organisations and suppliers should take to begin onboarding.

Letter of Agreement support

Queries were raised about who can support Trusts with the detailed completion of the Letter of Agreement.

At a high level:

• Suppliers should support the technical and delivery content, including the proposed connection route, Statement of Work, costs, dependencies and the appropriate supplier endorsements. Guidance has been provided to suppliers and is below:

• The DDCP team can support Trust-specific questions and completion of the funding application. Contact england.diagnostics.ddcp@nhs.net.

Fly-in/fly-out resource

Trusts can request fly-in/fly-out support for the activities required to connect to and adopt NIR. This may include:

• Information governance
• Clinical safety
• Technical delivery
• Testing
• Training and adoption

The resources requested should reflect the Trust’s actual delivery needs. For example, where an established interface already has testing support, a UAT Test Manager may not be required. The discussion among Trusts suggested that some organisations may instead need performance-testing support.

The Letter of Agreement should therefore describe the specific roles and support required locally. Trusts do not need to request resources that are not necessary.

Where an additional requirement becomes apparent during onboarding, the Tiger Team Coordinator will be available to help identify and mobilise the appropriate support.

[Charlee_Martin]

Onboarding Drop-In Updates - 18 Aug & 1 Sep

Clinical engagement and bespoke sessions

We’ve had some really fruitful conversations about how we can promote NIR more widely with clinical groups and Royal Colleges, as well as how regions may be able to leverage NIR to support areas such as international MDT working.

Building on those discussions, our newly appointed Tiger Team Coordinator is looking at arranging bespoke sessions around key topics, including Clinical Safety. We’ll keep you updated as these develop.

If there are other topics you think would benefit from a dedicated session, or there are specific areas you would like us to cover within a Clinical Safety session, please get in touch with the NIR Delivery Team at england.nirdelivery@nhs.net.

Clinical engagement is now part of the engagement pipeline

We’re also bringing clinical engagement more directly into the standard NIR engagement pipeline.

Dr Joe Barnett, NIR Clinical Lead, will now be involved in our initial engagement meetings with Trusts and is also happy to support organisations where initial engagement has already taken place.

As part of the engagement process, alongside supplier involvement in either the initial or subsequent meetings, we will now also arrange 1:1 sessions between Joe and relevant Trust clinical teams. This gives clinical colleagues an opportunity to discuss NIR directly, explore the clinical use cases and ask questions specific to their services.

If you would like to arrange a session with Joe proactively, rather than waiting for it to come through the engagement pipeline, email england.nirdelivery@nhs.net and we’ll get one arranged.

Regional sharing connections vs direct Trust connections

A common theme in recent questions has been the difference between connecting NIR through an existing regional image-sharing arrangement and connecting directly at Trust level.

We just want to reiterate that the NIR Service can support connections at different levels, depending on the local architecture and the most appropriate connection approach. NIR can connect to compliant supplier solutions involved in diagnostic image and report sharing, including PACS, RIS, VNA and EHR systems.

We’ve published an Onboarding Crib Sheet to help Trusts and organisations prepare for taking part in NIR. It sets out the key information needed for both the funding application and the onboarding process.

NIR Funding Application Crib Sheet_Sep2026.pdf (266.9 KB)

The crib sheet helps organisations think through:

• their proposed connection approach to NIR
• the systems and suppliers involved
• local resource requirements
• governance activities
• how information will flow between systems

Using the crib sheet early should help organisations understand what information is needed, have more productive conversations with suppliers, identify risks and dependencies earlier, and make the funding and onboarding process smoother and quicker.

We’d encourage you to use the Onboarding Crib Sheet as a practical resource in conversations about whether a regional sharing connection, direct Trust connection, or another technical route is most appropriate.

Image sharing discussion in Onboarding AOB

There’s also an interesting thread developing in the Onboarding AOB discussion around image sharing, with some useful questions and perspectives being raised by the group.

We want to make sure we give this a considered and consistent response, so the NIR Product Team will review the discussion and bring an official response back to the group.

Please do continue to contribute to the thread in the meantime — it’s a useful opportunity for us to work through the topic collaboratively.

[Dee_Patel]

Onboarding drop in Friday 18 September

Thanks to everyone who joined our latest NIR onboarding drop-in.

We welcomed colleagues from Trusts, imaging networks, suppliers, independent providers, Information Governance teams and clinical teams, with discussions covering onboarding, funding, governance, supplier readiness and the future direction of NIR.

Clinical benefits of NIR

Dr Joe Barnett, NIR Clinical Lead, discussed the clinical challenges NIR is designed to address, including:

• Difficulty accessing imaging performed at other organisations
• Delays to MDT discussions while images are requested and transferred
• Unnecessary repeat imaging and associated radiation exposure
• Delays to diagnosis and treatment caused by fragmented access to patient information

The NIR aims to improve access to imaging and reports across organisational boundaries, helping clinicians make more informed decisions and improving patient care.

Funding and onboarding support

A reminder that support is available throughout the onboarding process.

The Tiger Team can help organisations with:

• Completing Letters of Agreement (LOAs)
• Local Information Governance considerations
• Local Clinical Safety requirements
• Onboarding planning and coordination through to go-live
• Guide teams through the Digital Onboarding Service (DOS)

If you need support, please contact damine.patel@nhs.net

Image storage and governance

The team confirmed that organisations can continue to apply local governance and retention policies to images received through NIR.

• Local image storage remains a local organisational decision
• Organisations remain responsible for complying with local governance requirements
• Duplicate images should not be re-presented back into NIR

Further guidance will continue to be developed as onboarding progresses.

Information Governance update

We were pleased to welcome several Information Governance colleagues to the session.

The Trust DPIA template continues to progress through NHS England governance approvals. In the meantime, draft versions can be shared with organisations actively onboarding to support local planning and DPIA development.

If you need support, please contact england.nirdelivery@nhs.net.

Independent sector engagement

We welcomed representatives from independent imaging providers and discussed how NIR can support NHS-funded imaging pathways delivered by independent and teleradiology organisations.

Work continues with suppliers and independent providers to understand existing workflows, identify governance considerations and support future participation in NIR.

Supplier onboarding progress

Supplier engagement continues to progress positively.

• Fujifilm is now actively progressing through onboarding activities
• GE Healthcare continues to engage with the programme
• Additional suppliers have entered the Digital Onboarding Service
• Engagement continues across the wider imaging supplier market to ensure NIR connectivity becomes a standard capability

PACS upgrades and future procurements

Several organisations asked whether planned PACS or RIS replacements should delay NIR onboarding.

The answer remains no. Organisations are encouraged to begin engagement and funding discussions early, even where wider technology programmes are underway. This enables onboarding activities to be planned alongside future upgrades and procurements.

The future of NIR

The programme team also shared that work is underway to develop NIR’s longer-term vision. Alongside imaging, discovery activity has begun in areas such as:

• Histopathology
• Cardiology
• Wider diagnostic interoperability opportunities

Further updates will be shared in future sessions.

Useful resources

• View our NIR onboarding guidance: Includes general guidance and access to our NIR funding and onboarding crib sheet
• View our NIR governance page: Includes access to clinical safety and IG documentation

[Charlee_Martin]

NIR Onboarding Drop-In – 29 September 2026

Highlights and Programme Updates

Thank you to everyone who joined our latest NIR Onboarding Drop-In. We’ve had a really positive few weeks across healthcare engagement, supplier onboarding and our clinical discovery work. Here’s a roundup of the latest updates.

London Engagement – Positive Progress

We’ve now engaged with the whole of London, and the feedback has been very positive.

Trusts and Imaging Networks are formalising their plans and working through where NIR connectivity can fit into their existing digital programmes, including PACS upgrades, procurements and regional deployments.

The really positive news is that we’re not seeing supplier blockers across these discussions. The focus is now on aligning NIR connectivity with existing digital plans, confirming delivery timescales and identifying the right opportunities to connect.

Tiger Team – Information Governance Support

We’re pleased to welcome John McGovern, our new Tiger Team IG Lead, who has now started with the programme.

You’ll begin seeing John on our onboarding calls. He’s keen to get started with supporting organisations, answering questions and speaking directly with local governance teams.

If your IG or Governance Leads would like an introductory discussion, or have questions about NIR’s governance requirements, please email england.nirdelivery@nhs.net and we’ll arrange a conversation.

There’s no need to wait until you’re ready for onboarding or implementation to begin these discussions.

Private Healthcare Provider Engagement

We’re actively engaging with private hospitals and independent healthcare providers to explore their routes to NIR connectivity.

If you work with a private provider you’d particularly like to see connected, or have contact details for someone we should speak to, please email england.nirdelivery@nhs.net.

We’re keen to understand local clinical priorities and make sure the right providers are part of these conversations.

Supplier Quotations – Understanding Your Costs

As organisations begin engaging with their suppliers, we’re hearing about a range of costs to support integration being quoted depending on the existing technology stack.

A common theme across the country is that some organisations have legacy components, infrastructure or product features that may need upgrading before NIR connectivity can be enabled. This can be why seemingly similar products require different costs to integrate with NIR.

These requirements will vary depending on your supplier, product version and local architecture.

If you’re unsure whether a supplier cost can be included in your NIR Letter of Agreement, please speak to the Diagnostics Digital Capability (DDC) programme:

england.diagnostics.ddcp@nhs.net

The DDC team can help you understand the funding arrangements and discuss the costs associated with your proposed connection.

Cardiology and Echocardiography Discovery

We’ve had a really productive conversation with GE Healthcare as part of our echocardiography discovery work.

Our User Researcher, Joe Bradley, and NIR Business Analyst, Kevin Xu, are actively consolidating the findings to help us understand clinical requirements, supplier capabilities and potential approaches to connectivity.

We’re keen to hear from more organisations and clinical teams.

If you’d like to participate in the cardiology discovery work, please email joe.bradley5@nhs.net.

Teleradiology Discovery

Our teleradiology discovery work is also progressing very well.

We’ve been speaking with a wide range of suppliers, from established major providers through to smaller, emerging products, to understand their clinical workflows, technical capabilities and potential routes to NIR connectivity.

This is helping us build a much clearer picture of how NIR could support teleradiology services.

If you’d like an update on the progress of this work, or would like to contribute to the discovery, please get in touch with the NIR team.

You Said, We Listened – Onboarding Drop-In Poll

We trialled a poll at our last Onboarding Drop-In, and thank you to everyone who took part!

Two areas stood out in your feedback:

• A three-to-five-year product roadmap, showing the direction of NIR development and the clinical use cases we’re planning to support.

• A clearer definition of image sharing, including NIR’s ambition for data availability and what this means for organisations connecting to the service.

I’ve taken both points back to the NIR Product Team.

If you’d find it useful for us to dedicate an upcoming Onboarding Drop-In to the NIR roadmap, future use cases and the wider ambition for image sharing, please let us know. We’re happy to shape future sessions around what you’d most like to understand.

Stay Connected

Our NIR Onboarding Drop-In runs fortnightly on Tuesdays at 3pm. You’re welcome to bring questions, challenges or colleagues who would benefit from speaking directly with the team.

For general enquiries, requests for support or suggestions for future sessions, contact:

england.nirdelivery@nhs.net

You can also find the latest guidance and resources on our NIR Onboarding Guidance webpage.

Thanks again to everyone who’s been contributing to the conversations. It’s great to see the engagement and momentum building across the programme.