Stage 1: Setup and Preparation for NIR

This stage captures the foundational information required to register a supplier or health organisation for onboarding, including basic organisation details, key contacts, and the specific product and version being connected.

Help and tips for completing this section

Be Specific with Product Versions and Names: Ensure you provide the exact release version of the product that will be connecting to the NIR. Technical and clinical assurances are tied to specific versions.

Use Official Legal Names: Ensure your registered organisation name matches your official legal entity (e.g., on Companies House). You can put a commonly referenced name, if applicable, in brackets. This exact name will be used to generate your legally binding Connection Agreement later in the process.

Select the Right Contacts: Please provide details for the individuals actively managing this deployment. Avoid using generic support inboxes or senior executives who may not be able to respond quickly to onboarding queries.

Q.1

Are you onboarding as a Data Processor (Supplier) or a Data Controller (End User Organisation)?
Supporting information

Your selection determines the information required during digital onboarding. It directly reflects your clinical safety obligations, legal responsibilities for the NHSE integration, and the specific technical assurance steps you must complete.

Data Processor (Supplier): Typically a software vendor or IT provider. You process data strictly on behalf of the Data Controller. You sign the Connection Agreement with NHSE and assure your product and version are compliant with NHS standards. Your onboarding focuses on technical conformance, security, and product-level clinical safety (DCB0129).

Data Controller (End User Organisation): Typically a Trust, Healthcare Organisation, Imaging Network, or other entity that generates diagnostic data and makes clinical decisions on behalf of patients. You determine the purpose of the data, hold the direct relationship with the patient, and are responsible for local IG approvals (e.g., DPIA, signing the Data Sharing Arrangement). You are also responsible for organisation-level clinical safety (DCB0160).

Q.2
Supporting information

This name will appear on the Technical Conformance Certificate

You can enter up to 2000 characters
Q.3
Supporting information

This name will appear on the Technical Conformance Certificate

You can enter up to 2000 characters
Q.4
Supporting information

This Version will appear on the Technical Conformance Certificate

Each version of the product will require conformance testing and be issued with a Technical Conformance Certificate.

Only submit one version number here.

Q.5
You can enter up to 2000 characters
Q.6
You can enter up to 2000 characters
Q.7
Supporting information

What to submit?

Access the use case submission form here: Use Case Submission Form - Supplier/Vendor – Fill in form

Instructions: Complete the use case. Then upload the "Response Receipt". If you have additional use cases or supplementary information, upload as a zip file.

We require this information to understand the primary purpose of your integration and how it aligns with the objectives of the National Imaging Registry service.

The form will capture whether your use case is clinically focused (e.g., supporting Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings, direct patient care) or technically focused (e.g., background data synchronisation, decrease integration time). However, if your use case is primarily technical, you must clearly articulate how it ultimately delivers a clinical or patient benefit (such as reducing duplicate scans, saving clinician time, or ensuring data is available at the point of care).

Please also specify the main end-users, such as radiologists, referring clinicians, administrative staff, or the patients themselves, and briefly describe how this integration will positively impact their daily workflows or care journey.

You can upload one file that is smaller than 250MB. If you need to provide multiple files you should zip them up and upload them as a single .zip file.
Q.8

Confirm you have registered appropriate contacts to enable access to the NHS National IT Customer Support Portal. Customer Service Portal - Customer Support
Supporting information

Register for service and incident management

The NHS England National Service Desk provides 24/7 first line support to national IT applications such as Spine, Personal Demographics Service (PDS), Care Identity Service (CIS) and e-Referral Service (e-RS).
Registering your details will give you the ability to report your incidents or requests to NHS England, as well as receive them if you are registering as a resolver group.

If you have not registered previously (e.g. when integrating another NHS England Service), or wish to add new contacts, please complete the User Registration - Customer Support form.

Registration is mandatory for partners and suppliers contacts to obtain support via the NHS National IT Customer Support Portal.

For further assistance on how to access the portal, please see Customer Service Public - Customer Portal Account Guidance

The NHS National Service Desk (NSD) logs incidents, Service requests for national applications and Services, and National Back Office enquiries.
Email: ssd.nationalservicedesk@nhs.net
Phone: 0300 303 5035

Q.9

Have key members of your team successfully registered as a member of the Developer Community?
Supporting information

Membership in the Developer Community is a prerequisite for all onboarding entities, whether you are acting as a provider or a consumer. For your team members, it acts as a community portal to engage with the national teams around the NIR API.

Q.2
You can enter up to 2000 characters
Q.3
You can enter up to 2000 characters
Q.4

Are you a provider, consumer or both?
Supporting information

We recognise that within your organisation, data access and sharing requirements can vary significantly across different departments. For example, certain departments may only be authorised to view information (such as the Coroner's office), while other departments may not have the remit or capability to publish local imaging data to a national network.

Taking these internal departmental workflows and permissions into account, please select the role that reflects the overall scope of your healthcare organisation's intended API integration:

Provider: Your Trust will publish or supply imaging metadata and records to the National Imaging Registry. This allows the local patient imaging history generated at your site to be discovered by the wider NHS network.

Consumer: Your Trust will query and retrieve imaging metadata and records from the National Imaging Registry. This allows authorised local users (e.g., clinicians, coroners) to search for and view a patient's imaging history that was generated at external NHS trusts.

Both (Provider & Consumer): Your Trust will perform a bidirectional integration, contributing local imaging data to the national registry while simultaneously querying the registry to pull external patient records into your local departmental workflows.

Q.5

Have you completed the necessary documentation and engaged with the DDC programme around NIR integration?
Supporting information

We ask this to ensure your project has the necessary financial backing and strategic alignment to proceed successfully. The Digital Diagnostics Capability (DDC) programme provides strategic oversight and funding support during this phase of the National Imaging Registry (NIR) implementation phase.

If you have not yet engaged or have planned to engage with the DDC programme, please contact the programme team directly at england.diagnostics.ddcp@nhs.net before proceeding with your onboarding application.

If you feel you are outside of the scope of the DDC programme, select "Not Required" and add additional details.

You can enter up to 2000 characters
Q.6
Supporting information

Please provide the exact name, vendor, and version number of the software being integrated. This allows us to ensure that the correct systems are assured and authorised for connection.

You can enter up to 2000 characters
Q.7

What is the current routing model used for imaging traffic?
Supporting information

We require this information to understand your existing imaging infrastructure as NIR uses an internet first approach.

You can enter up to 2000 characters
Q.7a

Can your imaging system (acting as a responding gateway / responding imaging gateway) accept inbound retrieval requests over the public internet from a known set of whitelisted source IP addresses?
Q.7b

Is this primarily a policy decision or a technical constraint?
Q.7c

How is internet access provided for your organisation
Q.7d

What is the default outbound routing path for general network traffic?
Q.8
Supporting information

What to submit?

Access the use case submission form here: Use Case Submission Form - Healthcare Organisations – Fill in form

Instructions: Complete the use case. Then upload the "Response Receipt". If you have additional use cases or supplementary information, upload as a zip file.

We require this information to understand the primary purpose of your integration and how it aligns with the objectives of the National Imaging Registry service.

The form will capture whether your use case is primarily clinical (e.g., supporting cross-regional Cancer MDTs, stroke pathways, or major trauma care) or operational (e.g., automating background data synchronisation or consolidating local imaging gateways). However, if your primary driver is operational, you must clearly articulate how it ultimately translates to a clinical or patient benefit, such as reducing manual IEP requests, preventing duplicate scans, or ensuring diagnostic data is instantly available at the point of care.

Please also specify your primary local end-users (e.g., radiologists, referring clinicians, MDT coordinators, or administrative staff) and briefly describe how this connection will positively impact their daily workflows and the overall patient care journey.

You can upload one file that is smaller than 250MB. If you need to provide multiple files you should zip them up and upload them as a single .zip file.
Q.9

Confirm you have registered all your appropriate contacts to enable access to the NHS National IT Customer Support Portal. Customer Service Portal - Customer Support
Supporting information

Please note that the National Imaging Registry (NIR) does not prescribe how incident resolution is handled between your organisation and your local system supplier. It is entirely up to your organisation and your supplier to work together to define a local incident management and resolution approach that best supports your clinical and operational needs.

The NHS England National Service Desk (NSD) provides 24/7 first-line support (covering national IT applications such as Spine and NIR).

To report national integration incidents or raise service requests directly with NHS England, your organisation must be registered on the NHS National IT Customer Support Portal. Customer Service Portal - Customer Support

How to Register: If your organisation has not registered previously, or if you need to add new local contacts, please complete the User Registration - Customer Support form.
Note: Registration is mandatory for any connecting organisations and suppliers to obtain support via the portal.

If you cannot access the portal, you can reach them here:
Email: ssd.nationalservicedesk@nhs.net
Phone: 0300 303 5035

Q.10

Have key members of your team successfully registered as a member of the Developer Community?
Supporting information

Membership in the Developer Community is a prerequisite for all onboarding entities, whether you are acting as a provider or a consumer. For your team members, it acts as a community portal to engage with the national teams around the NIR API.

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