Kathryn Salt

Kathryn Salt is Head of Service for Open Data and Publications

Head of Service: Open Data and Publications

I graduated from the University of Derby with a BSc in Psychology and kind of fell into statistics when I joined the Department for Work and Pensions. I didn't even know that being a statistician was a career option for me. Data is powerful and held a fascination for me. Once I started working as a Higher Information Analyst in 2006, I never looked back.

Working here has meant working with some of the biggest, most comprehensive healthcare datasets out there. Some of them date back 70 years and are the envy of countries around the world.

We have such a supportive culture here.

During the pandemic, I worked on creating the Shielded Patients List, COVID-19 vaccine cohorts and on getting researchers the GP data they needed to understand the virus’s impact and treatment. It has been a hugely exciting period to be working on NHS data – and it came as a bit of a cherry on top to win ‘Data Leader of the Year’ award at the Women in IT awards last year.

We have such a supportive culture here. Our teams are full of driven individuals who want to collaborate and, ultimately, to improve people’s lives.

Blogs

Kathryn Salt inside NHS Digital's offices in Leeds

By Kathryn Salt. 22 September 2022 The past, present and future of our GP data service

Kathryn Salt, Head of Service for Open Data and Publications, and winner of the 'Women in IT Awards Data Leader of the year' 2021, provides an insight into how the data collected by GPs is being used, how it's helping to save lives and what the challenges are for the future.