Scaling the impact of health data research

Recent government policies including the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England and the UK Life Sciences Sector Plan recognise the vital role of data in helping to tackle the most complex health challenges through both research and innovation. Unlocking the potential of data to improve health and care requires a secure infrastructure, strong governance and building trust with patients and the public.

Over the past three years, Health Innovation East has played an important role in developing a secure data infrastructure through the East of England Secure Data Environment (SDE). Working alongside Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and Cambridge University Health Partners, the health informatics team has designed and delivered the technical capabilities, governance and public involvement required to enable safe access to NHS data in the region for the purpose of analysis and research.

In February 2026, the programme reached a significant milestone. The East of England and East Midlands SDEs merged to form the Eastern England Secure Data Environment, representing the largest footprint of any Secure Data Environment in England covering a population of almost 12 million people.

As national policy on secure access to health data for research and innovation develops, the SDE will grow in scale and capability. The health informatics team at Health Innovation East will be at the forefront of delivering this ambition, working with NHS organisations to onboard new data partners, develop new analytical capabilities and enable research partnerships that unlock the potential of NHS data for our health.

Building a rich, standardised clinical dataset

This year a major focus of the programme has been the development of a high-quality, standardised and de-identified clinical dataset that can support research at scale.

The SDE provides secure access to more than ten years of de-identified longitudinal secondary care data derived from CUH’s electronic patient records. The dataset has been curated and standardised so that it can be analysed across studies and more efficiently integrated with other datasets where required. The dataset includes over 1 million patient records and over 507 million clinical measurements records (e.g. heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure) and captures detailed clinical information including diagnoses, medications, procedures and clinical measurements. Data can be analysed across key demographic variables such as age and gender, enabling approved researchers to understand patterns of disease, treatment outcomes and patient pathways over time.

This dataset will grow in both scale and diversity through the onboarding of additional NHS partners. This will significantly increase the volume and breadth of data available to researchers, providing access to millions of de-identified patient records and billions of clinical measurement records. Rather than bringing all data into a single central repository, data is made discoverable and usable for approved research through standardised data models and secure access mechanisms.

Speeding up discovery of study cohorts and supporting fast feasibility for clinical trials

In addition to expanding datasets, the Health Informatics team has delivered new technical capabilities to help researchers use data more efficiently.

One of the most significant developments has been the creation of a cohort discovery capability within the SDE, working with our external technology partner FITFILE. This tool allows researchers to query the dataset to identify groups of patients who meet eligibility criteria for potential clinical studies.

Traditionally, finding patients who are eligible for a clinical trial can take months, often requiring separate manual analysis of hospital data to be repeated across multiple organisations. The cohort discovery capability developed within the SDE can reduce this process to a matter of days or even hours.

The tool has been co-designed with partner NHS trusts to ensure it works in practice for clinical teams – allowing them to run searches on the datasets to assess the suitability of patients for clinical trial recruitment.

By dramatically reducing the time needed to assess feasibility, this tool will help accelerate research studies and improve opportunities for patients to participate in clinical trials.

Expanding partnerships across the NHS

As the SDE infrastructure has matured, the team has focused on expanding the participation of NHS data partners from across the region, increasing the availability of datasets that reflect the diversity of patient populations and healthcare challenges across the region.

During 2025/26, two additional NHS trusts – Milton Keynes University Hospital and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – have harmonised health data from their hospitals and implemented the FITFILE technology with the support from the team. Once fully onboarded, this will enable eligible patients from these trusts to be identified and, in the future, invited to participate in approved studies.

Potential partnerships are in progress with a further seven NHS organisations, which will significantly expand the diversity and breadth of data available for research in the coming years.

Supporting real-world evidence research

During the year, the SDE supported collaborations with research organisations and life sciences partners seeking to generate real-world evidence using NHS data.

Working with Arcturis, the team has enabled research on treatment outcomes using curated clinical datasets. Current projects include analysing real-world data relating to cancer and autoimmune diseases, helping researchers better understand how treatments perform in routine clinical practice.

Outcomes such as these demonstrate how secure data environments can enable high-quality research while ensuring that sensitive NHS data remains protected.

Christie Brooks, Chief Data Officer at Arcturis said:

“The Eastern England SDE provides one of the strongest environments for testing and running research studies using health data. It offers a safe, trusted space that enables regional organisations to participate in national research initiatives, while keeping sensitive data within the NHS. What really matters is the platform and environment. The SDE’s platform-as-a-service model brings well-tested, validated processes for data quality, compliance and assurance, providing confidence that data is being handled to safe standards.”

From regional to national capabilities

The Eastern England SDE programme has brought together the governance, technology and patient engagement needed to enable secure access to NHS data for research across hospitals in the East of England and East Midlands.

The SDE’s research infrastructure is scalable: as well as supporting regional collaboration, it is informing how similar services could be delivered across other parts of the country. In doing so, the Eastern England SDE is helping position the region at the forefront of national efforts to enable responsible, large-scale use of NHS data for research and innovation.

Mark Avery, Director of the Eastern England SDE, said:

“For too long research has stalled because of the fragmentation and lack of suitably secure spaces to access and analyse data at scale, meaning patients miss out on discoveries that could improve their lives. By bringing together the expertise across the East of England and East Midlands regions, we’re creating a unique regional asset for research, clinical trials and life sciences innovation. Our focus now is to expand this capability so that more patients and more organisations can benefit from the research it enables.”