Research Data Scotland welcomes Sudlow Review on UK health data landscape

Research Data Scotland (RDS) welcomes the review’s five key recommendations for transforming the national health data ecosystem to improve health, wellbeing and prosperity across society. Much of the findings chime with the work going on in Scotland, which Research Data Scotland is leading with partners to transform the system.

Professor Roger Halliday, CEO of Research Data Scotland, said: “The Sudlow Review is a timely reminder of the scale of good that can come from opening access from data for research: providing early and accurate disease diagnosis, improving services and prevention so we can reduce pressure on critical, front-lines services.

“While the recommendations for improving access to data are for England, they are a strong endorsement of the action taken by the Scottish Government to establish Research Data Scotland in the first place and the work that my colleagues and partner organisation across Scotland are doing to reuse and link data for research.

“Indeed, the report should act as a prompt for us to drive forward the changes still needed for data to be used systematically to save time, money and lives.”

The main findings of the review include: 

1. Major national public bodies with responsibility for or interest in health data should agree a coordinated joint strategy to make England’s health data a critical national infrastructure
2. Leading government health and research bodies should establish a national health data service for England with accountable senior leadership
3. The Department for Health and Social Care should oversee and commission a strategy for ongoing coordinated engagement with patients, public, health professionals, policymakers and politicians
4. The health and social care departments in the four UK nations should set a UK-wide approach for data access processes and proportionate data governance
5. National organisations in the four UK nations should develop a UK-wide system for standards and accreditation of secure data environments (SDEs) – known as data safe havens in Scotland - holding data from the health and care system

Read more on the HDR UK website