This is a retropost. Written contemporaneously in 2020, but published four years after the events. It's May 2020 as I write this. I'm typing to capture the moment. Right now, I've no idea what the impact is. This is the exact moment, on Thursday May 7th, I hit the Big Red Button - three of them! - to open source the UK's COVID-19 Beta test app. https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Open-Source-NHSX.mp4 It was thrilling and terrifying. We'd spent the last few weeks getting…
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This is a retropost. Written contemporaneously in February 2019, but published much later. My life is weird. Again. Looking out over London from the top floor. The Eye is glittering and the Palace of Westminster is glowing. Someone pours me a glass of (very expensive) champagne, as the Secretary of State laughs at my witty bon mot. Is this my life now? People of distinction and influence listening to what I have to say? It isn't an oak-panelled room, with deep armchairs, where cigar-smoking …
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These are notes that I wrote during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. I've published them a few years later. By now, you're probably sick and tired of shoving a swab up your nose and / or down your throat. You've grown blasé about the little medical marvel as it reacts to whatever antibodies are flowing laterally. You don't even bother reading the paper leaflet any more. Right? But that swab test wasn't the only option on the table. One of the (many) tasks our team was looking into was …
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Today is a day of mixed emotions for me. The UK's COVID tracing app is finally closing. The app was, by any reasonable measure, a success. A team of experts at the Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford and Department of Statistics at the University of Warwick estimate the NHS COVID-19 app prevented around 1 million cases, 44,000 hospitalisations and 9,600 deaths during its first year. Source Earlier this year, I recorded a short video about what it was like working…
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It has been a year since I stopped working for NHSX. A few weeks ago, someone reached out to me inquiring about a job there. They wanted to know what they needed to know before joining. As well as the normal moaning about the quality of vending machine coffee, I told them about three things which caught me off-guard when I joined. So, here for your edification, are three things I wish I'd known about NHS technology before I joined... The NHS Doesn't Exist I often tell people that the NHS…
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I know exactly what I was doing on 9th April 2020. I was worrying about open-sourcing the NHS Covid Tracing app. I was worrying about tech standards for booking test slots. I was worrying if I'd ever see my family and friends again. I was worrying if the NHS websites would contain enough semantic HTML to be useful. I was worrying if the security of 3rd party sites was up to snuff. I was worrying about the Inevitable Pubic Inquiry. I was worrying worrying worrying late into the night. Terence…
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Well, that was a whirlwind! After 18-months at NHSX, my 6-month temporary secondment has reached its end. It's always hard when a job finishes. The secondment was twice extended, and that let me carry on defining open technology standards for the NHS. Now it is over and I'm a bit sad. The pandemic seems to heighten all emotions, doesn't it? I'm luckier than most. I'm still employed. The whole point of a secondment is a short-term loan to share skills and experiences. I'm returning to my home …
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One of the (many many many) things our team worked on this week finally went live: Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentYou can now access most NHS services from your mobile, with no data charges.In awe of the team who pulled this together very quickly. gov.uk/government/new…gov.ukMobile networks remove data charges for online NHS coronavirus adviceFree access to online NHS services will be available for as long as coronavirus (COVID-19) remains widespread in the UK.❤️ 507💬 17♻️ 019:30 - Wed 18 Mar…
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A few weeks ago, I was asked if I wanted a free ticket to a conference about the health industry. The line-up of speakers looked pretty interesting, so I said yes. I speak at a lot of conferences, and sometimes it's nice to go as a guest. Even though I'd agreed, the conference organiser started with the hard sell. The location was at a famous sports club (yawn!) and we'd get a behind the scenes tour (errr... not for me) and there would be a free cocktail reception at the end (I can think of…
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What started as a fairly ordinary week, quickly transformed into something extraordinary. Large swathes of NHSX were suddenly told to de-prioritise their day-to-day work and focus on COVID19 response. I probably can't talk specifically on what I've been working on, but it has been one of the most intense working weeks of my life. As is customary, here are The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of my week, The Good We have an amazing team of committed professionals. A wide range of skills and…
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I've been to a fair few GovCamps - the (mostly) annual gathering of Civil Servants who want to explore new ways of working. For a flavour of what they're like, see scripti electronici passim: GovCamp 2012 (Video of my talk) GovCamp 2015 Tweets only GovCamp 2016 GovCamp 2018 GovCamp 2019 It was great to see old friends (and how old we've become) but even greater to hear so many pitches start with "This is my first time at GovCamp!" Movements like this only survive if we can convince new…
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If you'd like to set up a meeting or call with me, chances are, I've sent you a link to my calendar. It's a public website where you can see when I'm available. One important note, before we go any further, this public calendar only shows my free/busy status. It doesn't show the names of the appointments, details of people I'm meeting with, locations, or any other data. It's literally just "this is when Terence is busy". There are two primary reasons why I do this. Make it easy for people …
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