Care Opinion uses the data feeds (called APIs) provided by nhs.uk to sync data between our platforms.
Every hour we request any new stories and responses from nhs.uk. We publish those stories and responses on Care Opinion automatically.
Likewise, when we publish a new story or response which was submitted on Care Opinion, we will attempt to send it to nhs.uk so it can appear there too.
Which stories and responses do we pull from nhs.uk?
We only pull stories from NHS.UK for services we list. So we include feedback about acute, community, mental health and ambulance trust services. We also include many independent and third sector providers.
We are currently adding GPs in England to Care Opinion so we will pull those stories too. We do not currently list dentists.
Which stories and responses do we send to nhs.uk?
We send stories about health services in England for which we have an official ODS code. This includes all NHS services.
We also comply with these rules set by nhs.uk:
- We don't send stories which are over 2 years old or which were posted by staff on behalf of patients or carers.
- We send a response only if it is posted by one of the providers the story is about. We send only the first response from any provider.
- We don't send responses from commissioners, healthwatch or other organisations.
- Stories with less than 99 characters are rejected by nhs.uk.
How does this affect the privacy of story authors?
The information shared between our platforms is restricted to the information which can be read by anyone on each site. No patient identifiers are shared.