The North East and North Cumbria region will be awarded a further £7.9 million to help accelerate the Secure Data Environment programme, NHS England has announced.
The funding is part of a £175 million national investment from NHS England’s Data for Research and Development programme, with the aim of improving secure access to data for research purposes. North East and North Cumbria ICB led the bid along with the region’s AHSN, Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, and the North of England Commissioning Support Unit.
The ICS states that the programme supports their research and development teams in “perform[ing] powerful analytics using the latest tools and techniques”, and highlights the role that the programme can play in speeding up access to data for research and enabling the the population to “benefit more quickly from new insights”.
Already, initial trial projects have been underway to test the governance and technical aspects of the programme, through initial funding received earlier this year.
Professor Graham Evans, executive CDIO for North East and North Cumbria ICB, commented that the investment “provides our region with a fantastic asset which means we can create a research rich ecosystem”. He added that the data needed to support the population “is out there, but the processes to access the data can be challenging for researchers and healthcare analysts. This programme will help us to use innovative new approaches and make access to health and care data more secure and more efficient for research and service planning.”
In other news from the region, North East and North Cumbria dental services are set to receive a £3 million boost in funding, thanks to a new initiative designed to “protect, retain and stabilise” local dental services in the community.
