The North West Secure Data Environment (SDE) has made seven funding awards through its data accelerator fund for novel and emerging assets, designed to support “better use of health and care data”.
Funding of between £36,000 and £132,000 has been awarded to seven NHS trust and University-led projects, with recipients including Mersey Care, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership, and research teams from the University of Liverpool; Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and research teams from the University of Liverpool; University Hospitals of Liverpool Group and research teams from the University of Liverpool; and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh.
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership shared details of its project in collaboration with Mersey Care and the University of Liverpool, to bring together records from both mental health trusts, along with GP, hospital, and community health data within the SDE.
The project, which has been awarded £83,000, will mean that approved researchers can use de-identified data to help improve understanding of mental health conditions, patient journeys, and the relationship between mental and physical health, the trust states.
Operations lead for the North West SDE, Zharain Bawa, highlights that projects have been selected based on their clear public benefit, realistic delivery plans, and contribution to the SDE, adding: “The successful bids cover a wide range of data assets, including hospital care, primary care in Lancashire and South Cumbria, mental health and community care, cancer, environmental and geographical data, and specialist neuroscience data. This breadth is important because people’s health is shaped by many different factors, and research needs to reflect that complexity.”
Successful applicants for funding will reportedly be supported by the SDE team across technical, governance, and research areas, providing regular progress updates as projects move forward. New datasets are expected to be published from late 2026 and early 2027 onward.
Wider trend: Health data
The Department of Health and Social Care has commissioned a national programme of engagement for GPs and practice managers, to “genuinely influence” national policy with their views on how patient data is used across the NHS. Views and everyday experiences of GPs and practice managers are sought across three key areas: individual patient care and how health professionals can access or add to the GP patient record; how patient data is used for routine planning at regional and national levels; and how patient data is used for research into new treatments and medications.
Three “interregional” data projects have been selected for a share of €3.8 million through the EU-funded UNITE programme, with an aim to utilise data for innovation across heart failure, neonatal intensive care, and medical imaging. The selection follows an open call that reportedly engaged more than 1,000 organisations and received 19 proposals from different European regions, seeking to improve accessibility of health data across borders and to deliver more personalised remote care. The first project to be confirmed for funding is CARDIO-HUB, which utilises real-world data, AI-powered risk prediction, and remote monitoring to help improve care for elderly heart failure patients.
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has welcomed the launch of the Zenith supercomputer funded by the Department for Science, Industry and Technology. Said to offer researchers the ability to study health data on an “unprecedented scale”, the supercomputer will also support and inform the development of AI tools for patient care across the NHS. The AI Centre for Value-Based Healthcare is reportedly collaborating with Zenith on the project to help ensure the supercomputer’s power is deployed “responsibly and securely”.
