NHS England BaRS UEC Adoption Accelerator Fund 2026/27 EOI Process
Dear All
There is national focus on accelerating adoption of the Booking and Referral Standard (BaRS) across UEC pathways. UEC BaRS adoption is linked to the NHS England 2026/27 UEC planning priority outlined in Jim Mackey’s letter: 1 April 2026 next steps on planning and priorities for 2026/27). This focuses on making it easier for patients to book appointments in general practice, urgent treatment centres, or other appropriate settings, helping to reduce avoidable ED attendances.
NHS England is launching an Expression of Interest (EOI) process and inviting provider organisations to apply for the NHS England BaRS UEC Adoption Accelerator Fund 2026/27 to support BaRS adoption across UEC pathways. Full details of the EOI process (including eligibility and timelines) are attached. To apply for this funding, providers will need to complete this form by the 11th August 2026. All received bids will undergo a national sift and prioritisation by the BaRS adoption team before sharing with regions.
Details are being shared with you in advance to ensure regional visibility and coordinated communication. Your insights will be invaluable in enabling smoother and effective communication. We would therefore request your support to:
The BaRS adoption team are in the process of confirming organisations in the region where adoption is already underway and will directly engage with them to explore their ability to extend adoption across services. We encourage all organisations to look at the information on the BaRS website. Examples of patient journeys already enabled through BaRS include:
- NHS 111, clinical assessment services (CAS) and emergency departments (EDs)
- NHS 111 online, EDs and urgent treatment centre (UTCs)
- Streaming and redirection, EDs and UTCs
- 999 and CAS referral
- 999 and CAS referral for ambulance validation
- GP and community pharmacy
- 999 Ambulance service trust (AST) and 999 AST (this journey is in development)
Please contact me if you would like further details on BaRS or the EOI process.
Jayne Mwaka
Mobile: 07825 118831
Email: jayne.mwaka3@nhs.net
Kind Regards
Mark Bamlett
Deputy Director UEC (Digital & IUC)
NHS England – London Region