NHS MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides AI assistants with access to NHS public health datasets. Query prescribing data, explore datasets, and look up NHS organisations directly from Cursor, Claude Desktop, or any MCP-compatible host.

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• npm

Install and Build

npm install
npm run build

Configure Cursor

The project includes a .cursor/mcp.json that registers the server automatically. After building, restart Cursor to pick up the MCP server.

To configure manually in any MCP host, register a stdio server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nhs": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/nhs-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

datasets_list

List all available datasets on the NHSBSA Open Data Portal.

Parameters:

• search_query (optional) — Filter datasets by title or description

Example prompt: "List all NHS datasets related to prescribing"

datasets_metadata

Get detailed metadata for a specific dataset, including resource IDs needed for querying.

Parameters:

• dataset_id (required) — Dataset name or ID

Example prompt: "Show me the metadata for the English Prescribing Dataset"

datasets_query

Query a specific dataset resource by its resource ID. Use datasets_metadata first to discover resource IDs.

Parameters:

• resource_id (required) — The resource ID to query
• filters (optional) — Key-value pairs to filter records
• limit (optional) — Max records to return (default 20, max 100)
• offset (optional) — Records to skip for pagination

Example prompt: "Query resource abc-123 filtering by BNF_CODE 0407010H0"

prescriptions_search

Search NHS prescribing data from the English Prescribing Dataset (EPD).

Parameters:

• bnf_code (optional) — BNF code (e.g., 0407010H0 for Paracetamol)
• drug_name (optional) — Free-text drug name search
• practice_code (optional) — GP practice code
• year_month (optional) — Period in YYYYMM format
• resource_id (optional) — Specific EPD resource ID
• limit (optional) — Max records (default 20, max 100)

Example prompt: "Search for Paracetamol prescriptions in January 2024"

Data Sources

Source	API	Auth Required
NHSBSA Open Data Portal	CKAN Action API	No

Development

Project Structure

src/
├── mcp/                    # MCP protocol layer (tools, server setup)
│   ├── server.ts
│   └── tools/
├── application/            # Business logic (use cases, formatters, types)
│   ├── use-cases/
│   ├── formatters/
│   └── types.ts
└── infrastructure/         # External concerns (API clients, cache, config)
    ├── clients/
    ├── cache/
    ├── config.ts
    └── logger.ts

Commands

npm run build       # Compile TypeScript
npm run dev         # Watch mode
npm test            # Run tests
npm run test:watch  # Watch mode tests
npm start           # Start MCP server (stdio)

Running Tests

npm test

Tests mock all external HTTP calls. No network access is required.

License

MIT