Health and social care data strategy: consultation analysis - easy read

Part 2 : giving power to staff

Staff said there is a need for:

• systems that are easy to use and work together
• rules about how data is used
• data that is:
  • correct and complete
  • accessible – easy to find and understand
• ways to find new staff with the right digital skills
• technical support
• better hardware and software – how a computer runs and the programs it uses

Staff should get training in:

• data processing – how to understand and use data
• why data in health and social care is important
• understanding what data there is and how to find it
• how to keep data safe and secure
• governance and ethical standards

Ethical standards are the rules about what is right and wrong.

It means for example treating people the way you would like to be treated.

Money and staff would be needed for training.

People who design data systems must understand what the people using it will need.

People who cannot use the internet or do not want to do things online must be able to get data in other ways.

People supported having Scottish standards and rules for collecting, storing and accessing data to make sure:

• everyone was working the same way
• work was not done more than once
• systems worked well together
• data was high quality

Some people suggested standards, codes and guidance we already have.

People said that sharing data was very important.

People said there should be one way for everyone get data.

Some people thought a new system would need to include the systems we already have.

A few people said it was important to have one way to identify service users, like the CHI number, so that information is linked across organisations.

A CHI number is a 10 digit number that each patient gets when they first use NHS services.

Some people said that trained staff were needed to develop a new system.

People supported the use of data from other organisations including:

• housing
• wearable technology
• socio-economic data – the differences in health between the poorest and richest people
• demographic data – information about the people who live in Scotland
• how services work together

People thought that better sharing of data would mean:

• people who used services would be safer
• services would be better quality and people would get the services they needed

People thought the most important pieces of information that management needed were:

• better ways to collect and use data about ways of working
• ways of checking risk – what could be dangerous or difficult
• information about the number of people working in services
• plans for services in the future
• information that checks if things are working well for people who use services
• data about protected characteristics