Open consultation: UK Department of Health and Social Care data access policy update (proposed draft)
The UK Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the NHS in England made a commitment in the data saves lives strategy to move to a system of ‘data access as default’ for the secondary uses of NHS health and social care data (‘NHS data’). This change will be supported by the implementation of secure data environments across the NHS in England.
Secure data environments are data storage and access platforms that allow approved users to access and analyse data without the data leaving the environment. This brings major improvements to security and transparency as well as speed of access for researchers, compared to current data-sharing practices.
This positive yet complex change will be delivered through the critical investments made by the Data for Research and Development programme into national and sub-national secure data environments. Clear policy and a coherent strategic narrative will be critical in shaping this transition, hence DHSC’s publication of 12 secure data environment policy guidelines and a simple explanation for secure data environments in September 2022.
Since the publication of these guidelines, DHSC has continued to engage with stakeholders from across the sector. This has been invaluable in helping to define the work required to deliver on its ambitions outlined in the data saves lives strategy.
Click here to read the draft data access policy update
Share your views
The UK Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published the proposed draft of the data access policy update for open consultation, seeking feedback on its latest update. The draft policy update builds on the 12 secure data environment policy guidelines, setting out key policy decisions made so far.
The views and feedback gathered from this consultation will inform the final version of this policy update, as well as longer-term priorities and actions for data access policy. This policy update is intended for a technical audience, such as data controllers, data users and platform providers.
Share your views by emailing them to dataaccesspolicy@dhsc.gov.uk by Friday, 23 June 2023.
