NHS number

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The NHS number is a unique number used by the National Health Service in England, Wales and the Isle of Man to identify patients. Scotland's equivalent is called a CHI number.

The NHS number was generally introduced in 1996, although they were allocated to every new-born baby since July 1995,[1] before becoming mandatory since 1st April 1997.[2]

It replaced the previous system which used letters and digits (e.g. "JRDAN 269"). There was no standardisation throughout the UK, and this meant that it was hard to validate a specific number.[1] Between 1969 and July 1995, the old-style NHS number was used on a baby's birth certificate as the reference number for the certificate.

The new format used is a ten digit number in a 3-3-4 format with the final digit being a check digit. Examples given are 943-476-5919 [3] and 943-476-5870. Currently issued numbers are in two ranges from 400-000-000 to 499-999-999 and 600-000-000 to 708-800-001.[4][5]

A person gets an NHS number at birth, or when they first make contact with the NHS by registering with a GP. It comes from a record being made on the Personal Demographics Service, a national patient database.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Julian M. Jenkins (1996). "Application of Information Technology to Medicine: NHS-wide networking". St. Michael's Hospital, Bristol: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Bristol. Retrieved 2013-08-11. 
  2. ↑ "08/2000 - Commissioning Data Sets (CDSs) i) Enchancement to functionality: HRGs and other changes ii) alignment with CMDSs" (PDF). Information Standards Board for Health and Social Care. October 2000. Retrieved 2013-08-11. 
  3. ↑ "The NHS Number". NHS Choices. Retrieved 2012-11-27. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "NHS Number: Your Unique Patient Identifier Fact Sheet for NHS Staff". NHS Connecting for Health. Retrieved 2012-11-27. 
  5. ↑ "Your NHS Number". NHS Connecting for Health. Retrieved 2012-11-27. 
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