The University of Exeter, in collaboration with NHS partners, has been awarded funding by Health Data Research UK South West (HDR UK SW) to support projects that will improve use of, and access to, NHS data for research within the region.
Chrissie Walker, Research Manager in Health Data at the NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre, explained, “Data within the NHS is stored in different places, and within different clinical systems. This can make it difficult to study it at scale for research. By looking at large amounts of data (‘big data’) researchers can spot patterns that can’t be seen at a smaller scale. This could include the effectiveness of different treatments over many years, or comparing how care is delivered in different parts of our region, and how this impacts patient outcomes across a whole population. Better understanding of the data held within the NHS helps deliver better care for patients.”
A total of £40,000 was awarded for three projects:
Jane Masoli, an Associate Professor of Ageing Research and Consultant Geriatrician at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Trust has been awarded £15,000 to fund the development of a data pipeline for hospital data, initially focussed on the care of older people with heart conditions. These data pipelines can be linked and anonymised within the upcoming NHS South West Secure Data Environment, giving researchers access to incredibly rich and detailed data that can be studied safely and securely.
Umesh Kadam, Professor of General Practice and Public Health Research, also received £15,000 to develop a visualisation dashboard aimed at addressing disparities in care for those with cancer and cardiovascular disease. By presenting geographical, socio-economic, and medical data in an accessible format, the tool will empower policymakers to make data-driven decisions. This project will ensure different populations in our region (rural, coastal, urban and ethnic minority groups) are able to receive equivalent care and outcomes.
Andy Mayne, Chief Scientist at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust leads the South West Peninsula Data Science Hub, part of the wider SWAIH network. The hub supports a small group of Analysts, Scientists and Data leads from NHS organisations and Councils across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset to work together, share expertise and collaborate on regional research projects with university researchers. The hub is supported by IDSAI and PenARC to embed new analytical and modelling methods and tools. The group has been awarded £10,000 to support travel and training for all its members from across the region, ensuring they can access the Hub, and identify specific training needs that will improve the development and embedding of Data Science and Operational research methods within their own organisation and across the region.