Dr Nicola Byrne, National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care has shared their annual report for 2023-24, highlighting the use of health data across the NHS, along with an update on the Federated Data Platform.
Dr Byrne opened the report citing the renewed focus on health data following Lord Darzi’s report into the NHS and Professor Sudlow’s review into the UK health data landscape; and the accompanying commitments to data and digital initiatives made by the UK government to help the NHS transition from analogue to “a digital future centred more on preventative care”.
Highlighting the need for “seamless and consistent” access to patient data across care settings, and a “strong foundation of effective information sharing” to act as a base for more advanced initiatives, the NDG’s introduction reflects on some of the barriers identified in 2020, including “anxieties around breaching confidentiality and data protection law”, and “technical limitations that can only be addressed nationally or regionally, such as poor infrastructure and a lack of system integration”.
The NDG also notes being “encouraged” by government efforts to improve information sharing across healthcare providers, pointing specifically to the Data (Use and Access) Bill, which “promises to drive interoperability by requiring technology suppliers to meet updated technical standards”, and lays the groundwork for seamless information sharing that “people expect from our healthcare providers”.
These changes, the NDG states, mark a move toward a system where “patients will no longer be burdened with the need to repeatedly recall and recount their medical histories to different providers”, and clinicians “always have the latest information to hand to inform and guide decisions about an individual’s care”.
Other updates include NHS England’s role in taking responsibility for the sharing of GP data with researchers on behalf of patients who have consented to participate in research studies, which the NDG sees as a potential move to “streamline access to data for research and reduce the burden on GPs”. And on the Federated Data Platform (FDP), the NDG recognises progress from NHSE on “system-wide communication efforts, focusing on building trust in the project by providing clear assurances about the procurement process”, which the NDG recognises as mitigating the risk of “a large rise in NDOO rates following Palantir’s selection as the supplier”.
Under “advice to the system”, the NDG presents insight into the NHS Federated Data Platform, noting advice offered to the DHSC and NHSE on improving efforts to offer clear information and “dispel myths” to gain public support for the FDP. The NDG’s guidance also notes that it finds it “encouraging” that NHSE has moved to prepare FDP-specific materials such as communication animations, to help support public understanding. The NDG also updates on concerns expressed in February of 2024 around “the lack of formal documentation for independent, external scrutiny to demonstrate how the FDP complies with its information governance responsibilities and relevant legal frameworks”; stating that following focused sessions with NHSE, “we are content that high-quality national and local DPIA templates have been produced”.
To read the NDG’s report in full, please click here.
Data in health and care
Last month, a blog post by Neil Taylor, senior intelligence manger at Derbyshire ICB, shared insight around the “changing role” of analysts in health and social care, along with the vast opportunities for the use of tech and data in supporting the move from reactive to proactive care. “For a long time, we have been working in the background on a range of dashboards evaluating key metrics against our system’s delivery,” he shared, adding: “But now there is a movement which recognises data-led decision making as the driving force behind all service commissioning.”
NHS England’s 5 December board meeting highlighted the role of digital in promoting prevention and efficiency in service delivery, as well as noting the role of data in supporting the development of a quality strategy aligning with the 10 Year Health Plan. The proposal for a quality strategy is intended to ensure quality is an “organising principle for the NHS”, building on recommendations from the Darzi and Dr Dash reviews, with data threading through the seven areas of focus: setting direction and priorities; bringing clarity to quality; measuring and publishing quality; recognising and rewarding quality; building capability; safeguarding quality; and staying ahead.
And HTN’s feature on digital and data across Wales took a closer look at the strategic direction, insights, recent developments, and more around digital healthcare and data in Wales. With insight from key stakeholders including Digital Health and Care Wales, InterSystems, the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board; we unearthed key priorities and outlooks from across the Welsh health system.
