London Secure Data Environment

Since 2022, we have led the communications and engagement workstream of the London Secure Data Environment – a collaboration of the five ICSs, NHS England London and other partners, working together to make London one of the healthiest global cities.

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Secure Data Environment

In 2023, London was awarded national funding to establish a Sub-National Secure Data Environment (SN SDE) to support research across the Capital. With this new funding, partners across London are working together to develop a world leading resource for health and care improvement known as the SDE. 

 

The SDE provides secure access to data and a range of services to accelerate research and innovation leading to improved patient care. Our ambition is for London to be the healthiest global city, and the best in which to receive health and care services. Joining up Londoners’ health and care information across the Capital is key to this. It will help us meet the needs of all of London’s communities, whether through improved direct care or enhanced research and development capabilities. 

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As part of our work on the London SDE, we design and produce visual assets, informative documents, and videos to support the SDE. In 2024/25, we worked with multiple stakeholders, such as the Londonwide Local Medical Committee (LwLMC) to develop a comprehensive set of FAQs and supporting resources for data controllers, including a new microsite, explainer videos, and guides.

 

Below is an example of an explainer video created to help internal staff and stakeholders understand how the SDE operates, and the value it brings to health and care.

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OLSDE by HIN South London

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Most recently, we produced a 13-minute video capturing a range of perspectives on the SDE which included views from the public, clinicians, population health experts, and researchers.

 

The video has been shared with senior leaders across the public sector.

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE)

Public involvement remains at the heart of our work to develop the London SDE. The public have been engaged through the Conversation with Londoners – the world’s largest public deliberation on the use of health and care data. It was this Citizens’ Summit which provided a clear instruction from the public for how data should be used and are now being used to shape policy for London.

 

As part of our PPIE and citizen representation work, we continue to engage with the public through:

Supporting Public Deliberation Events Nationwide

Public deliberations involve workshops with combinations of informative expert presentations and moderated group discussions, in which smaller groups review stimulus materials and deliberate their views, experiences and expectations.

 

Since 2020, five public deliberations have taken place, involving 301 members of the public representative of the diverse population in the Capital. Their expectations and recommendations have shaped the way we work, ensuring that the public is involved in every stage of development of the London SDE.

 

Most recently, in May and November 2024, we supported two public deliberation events with SDEs across the country in London as part of NHS England’s Research and Data national engagement strategy.

Working with the Independent Information Access Group (IIAG) and our Citizens' Advisory Group (CAG)

The formation of the IIAG was a key recommendation from public deliberations on how we could continue to build trust in the use of data in London. Their role is to critique as requests for information, and are made up of citizen representatives representing all five of London ICSs, including clinical, legal and information governance expertise.

 

The CAG consists of 102 members of the public, who help advise the development of the London SDE through regular engagement updates, focus groups and surveys – the latest of which were carried out in January and February 2025.

 

In 2025, several workshops were held with the CAG on research and development, where they debated and deliberated a range of options, including who should be able to access the London SDE, what safeguards should be in place and how much they should be charged to ensure NHS costs are covered and London benefits from any innovations that result.

Case Studies

We are working with NHS England (Powered by NHS Data campaign) and partners in North West London to develop case studies that showcase how projects using London SDE data are delivering real-world impact for both patients and staff.

 

Some of the projects we have been supporting include:

• Powered by NHS Data – Using clinical data to transform prostate cancer treatment and care. The campaign featured actor, writer and presenter Stephen Fry.

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In October 2024, we also hosted our first quarterly workshop with NIHR colleagues to strengthen engagement with researchers and academics. This featured speakers including Andrew Morris, Director of Health Data Research (HDR) UK and Alice Mortlock, Head of Research Capacity and Growth at the Department of Health and Social Care (DSHC) and NIHR Strategy and Engagement Board Member.