News and Perspectives

The DataLoch repository is under constant development thanks to new data from different collaborators and data sources, as well as work by our analyst team to improve the understanding of the data held and to share this knowledge with potential applicants. Here, we summarise the latest key improvements.

To provide greater support for our growing body of work, the DataLoch team is looking to expand the membership of our Public Reference Group.

A new partnership bringing together The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, NHS Lothian and Lenus Health, supported by Wellcome Leap, aims to develop improved support for Emergency Department clinicians through an innovative collaboration.

Monday 1 August 2022 marks an important step in our development: the full launch of the DataLoch service. This important milestone represents the first time where researchers from beyond the South-East Scotland region can apply for access to the health and social care data we host.

Local residents have shared their perspectives to support the development of the DataLoch service. Prior to the full DataLoch service launch, the team commissioned Ipsos Scotland to undertake a public consultation of local residents. The aim was to inform DataLoch’s governance framework for data access requests.

A current priority of the DataLoch team is to explore the diverse views of South-East Scotland residents around access to health data. To meet this ambition, we have recently worked closely with Ipsos Scotland to develop a new survey and discussion-based workshops; the results of the survey element have now been published.

My take on IG is “write it down”. What do you want to do, why, and how? This is for everything: Data Protection Impact Assessments, application forms, protocols, Standard Operating Procedures, working processes, data-sharing agreements, and so on. That’s all it is: write it down.

Lay Summaries and Public Benefit Statements are valuable parts of DataLoch applications. They present an informative overview of the key purposes and potential real-world impacts for first-time readers and non-specialists. These sections are vital for proposal reviewers, ultimately influencing the chances of a data-access application being successful.