Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) has shared an update on its use of data in clinical decision making, service planning, and performance improvement, noting the role of tech and digital skills in enabling staff to both access and use reliable information.
Use of the National Data Resource (NDR) has “transformed how the directorate understands its own performance”, according to ABUHB, with head of digital service management Gareth Moran sharing: “By bringing together operational data from key areas of the ITSM platform, it enables trends, service pressures and improvement opportunities to be identified earlier, supporting targeted interventions and evidence-based decision making. These insights are now embedded throughout DDaT’s governance structures, providing greater visibility, accountability and assurance at all levels.”
Access to the Google Cloud Platform is also having an impact, with the health board highlighting the potential for teams to use it in finding answers to questions or developing solutions to meet local needs. In oral and maxillofacial surgery in particular, a live dashboard has been established using data hosted within Google Cloud to offer better visibility of patient pathways, it continues.
“By combining existing administrative data with a small number of clinically meaningful codes, and automating the flow of information through the National Data and Analytics Platform, the team moved from manual, spreadsheet-based reporting to a live dashboard refreshed overnight,” ABUHB states. “The insight generated has already challenged long-held assumptions. For example, the dashboard revealed that orthognathic treatment pathways typically last closer to 30 months rather than the 18 months previously assumed. Having access to trusted, timely information is enabling the team to plan care and capacity with greater confidence and accuracy.”
The health board further points to the recent launch of its Data and Analytics Academy, designed to improve confidence around data and analytics across the organisation, with the first course, “BigQuery SQL” reportedly offering practical experience of working with health board data.
A new partnership between the University of South Wales and Digital Health and Care Wales has been announced, focusing on providing staff with the cloud skills needed for their roles, and the confidence to work in a cloud-enabled environment. DHCW outlines the role of this training in supporting migration readiness.
Wider trend: Health data
A partnership has been launched between the DATA-CAN data research hub for cancer hosted at Leeds Teaching Hospitals and the West Midlands Secure Data Environment to support access to high quality cancer data for researchers. The partnership draws on pseudonymised patient data from patient records at major cancer centres across the UK, including on diagnosis, treatments, test results, and patient outcomes. The first dataset has been uploaded to the WM SDE, with three further datasets currently in development, Leeds Teaching shares.
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”.
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. The NHS Transformation Directorate noted that “the potential of NHS data is key to advancing population health, improving patient care, and informing the development of the single patient record, but changes to national policy on data use “will only be successful if they are workable and trusted in practice”.
