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Ethnicity

Information about how NHS England collects and uses ethnicity data. NHS England collects information on ethnicity in areas covering births, general practice and secondary uses.

Page contents

General practice

Ethnic category is recorded in general practice systems. We access this information through our general practice collections.

Birth notifications

We operate a births notification service that updates the Personal Demographics Service and informs child health and hearing screening teams. This information includes the PDS ethnic category. The information is held for 6 months to help detect and resolve duplicates. After 6 months it is deleted.

Secondary uses

NHS England collects ethnic category using the values set by the Office for National Statistics as per the 2001 census. The values are documented in the NHS Data Model and Dictionary. We use this information in our statistical and management information reporting including:

Information Asset

NHS England maintains an ethnic category information asset that combines data from general practice and hospital episode statistics (HES). Combining these sources increases coverage, with the first iteration increasing this from 66% to 88%. The information asset will be used for approved purposes including dissemination to the NHS England flu national call/recall service.

Ethnic Category MI

Last edited: 5 March 2024 2:47 pm