A significant issue facing under-represented communities in the UK right now is the burden of health inequalities. Studies show that people from these communities have significantly poorer health outcomes and experiences in terms of both initial contact with health professionals and follow-up care.
Together with Kent and Medway, and Sussex ICSs, we’re working on a new, innovative project looking to address this problem and narrow the gap. The two-year programme will work closely with the academic community and innovators on research programmes looking to address these challenges.
Building on the success of the Kent integrated data set, and Sussex integrated dataset programmes we are developing the next stage platform that will become part of a national network across England. The programme will create a Sub National Secure Data Environment (SNSDE) for research that will support developing health care and life sciences across the region through academic research. Funded by NHS England, and part of a national network, the project will help systems to unlock data from medical records, images, genomics, and other multimodal data.
Led by Catherine Dampney, Director of Innovation & Transformation at SCW, a small team of ICS and SCW colleagues will design and build the solution and develop a business case to deliver the research platform and service. Significantly, the solution will enable better collaboration and faster access to linked data to support combinatorial analysis.
Through SNSDE, the ICSs will provide better health outcomes through improved treatment and access to more advanced and innovative treatment for under-represented communities in clinical trials and research.
The project will:
• Attract investment into the region offering skilled roles and opportunities for local communities
• Tackle issues around health inequalities through innovative and collaborative research groups
• Contribute to the development of a dynamic and thriving research community in the South East
One of the most important aspects of this programme will be the inclusion of a strong public engagement and consultation aspect to ensure everyone is engaged in agreeing who has access to patient data and for what purpose. We understand how important it is for patients to know what’s happening with their data, and this project aims to build their trust so that all patients will know and have control over exactly what is happening with their personal information.
Local citizens will have a say over how their data is safeguarded and used through the Citizen’s Panel that will part of the programme. We will ensure that this innovative programme centres around building a social contract based on trust and full transparency.
For more information on the programme contact
