Skip to main content

Research Advisory Group

The Research Advisory Group hosted by NHS Digital, brings the research community together to make better use of our data and services.

 

Share your views for the Goldacre Review

At the request of the Secretary of State for Health, Dr Ben Goldacre is leading a review into the better, safer use of health data.

As part of this Goldacre Review, Ben and his team would like to hear the views of people working with data across the healthcare system, in different roles and at different levels of seniority.

You can share your views by sending written submissions to goldacrereview@dhsc.gov.uk (until 15 March 2021) or by registering your interest in attending one of the Goldacre Review sessions (you will then be told if you have been successful in securing a place).

Join our next researcher roadshow on accessing health data

Registration is open for the next ‘Using health and social care datasets in research – opportunities, assets and examples’ event taking place on 15 and 17 March 2021.

This event is part of a series of researcher roadshows that aim to provide guidance on finding, accessing and gaining approvals for the use of health data. This event is split over 2 days, with day 1 providing insight on data quality and day 2 focussing on how to navigate the system.

Find out more about the sessions and register your interest in attending.

These events are run by NHS Digital, the NIHR Research Design Service, MRC Regulatory Support Centre, Health Data Research UK, and the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership.  You can watch sessions from the last roadshow on 25 November 2020.

About the RAG

The Research Advisory Group (RAG), hosted by NHS Digital, brings the research community together to advance the use and effectiveness of NHS Digital's data and services. Group membership consists of senior representatives from across research, the third sector and NHS Digital.  

The aim of RAG is to build a strategic partnership between researchers and NHS Digital. This partnership will: 

  • enable NHS Digital to improve its data and data services  
  • help researchers deliver better research quicker through the use of high-quality NHS Digital data, for the benefit of patients and the public 

Read the RAG minutes

Learn more about our membership

Read our terms of reference. 

NHS Digital’s research role in Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Find examples of how NHS Digital is supporting research and data sharing during COVID-19 below. For the latest information about this and our wider work take a look at our coronavirus programme updates. 

Lancet study into cardiovascular hospital admission research

New data from NHS Digital has been used by the University of Oxford to look at the weekly cardiac-related hospital admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, published in The Lancet, documents a reduction in admissions of patients with heart attacks in England by comparing weekly rates in 2020 to those in 2019.

Oxford RECOVERY trial finds effective treatment for COVID-19

Data from NHS Digital’s Secondary Uses Service (SUS+) and other data sets was used by scientists at the University of Oxford in the Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial to help assess the effectiveness of potential treatments for the virus.

GPES data for pandemic planning and research

To support the response to the coronavirus outbreak, NHS Digital has been working with the GP profession to collect and analyse healthcare information about patients, including from their GP record, for the duration of the coronavirus emergency period. Find out how this collection is supporting COVID-19 research in this blog from Dr Peter Short, Clinical Lead for GP Data. 

News and resources from RAG members

Last edited: 4 March 2021 1:39 pm