Health and Social Care Data Board meeting minutes: June 2023

Attendees and apologies

Chair

• Carol Sinclair (CS)

Board Members

• Alan bell (AB)
• Susan Cloke (SC)
• Euan Dick (ED)
• Mel Giarchi (MG)
• Roger Halliday (RD)
• Scott Heald (SH)
• Karen Hedge (KH)
• Albert King (AK)
• Eilidh McLaughlin (EM)
• Martin Murchie (MMu)
• Penni Rocks (PR)

Programme team

• Ryan Anderson (RA)
• Simon Crawley (SCr)
• Alistair Hodgson (AH)
• Gemma Wilson (GW)

In Attendance

• Sean Doohan (SD)
• Gillian Fyfe (GF)
• Lorna Gibbs (LG)
• Rikke Ivershot (RI)
• Jill Laspa (JL)
• Andrea Lenssen (AL)
• Martin Morrison (MMo)
• Melanie Weldon (MW)

Apologies

• Marion Bain (MB)
• Colin Birchenall (CB)
• Jonathan Cameron (JC)
• Ruth Griffith (RG)
• Mavis Machirori (MM)
• Trish Quinn (TQ)
• Lewis Ritchie (LR)
• Mark Simspon (MS)
• Andrew Strait (AS)
• Jonathan Todd (JT)
• Alison White (AW)

Items and actions

Welcome, Introductions and Apologies.

CS welcomed everyone to the eighth meeting of the Health and Social Care Data Board.

Apologies were noted from Marion Bain (MB), Colin Birchenall (CB), Jonathan Cameron (JC), Ruth Griffith (RG), Mavis Machirori (MM), Trish Quinn (TQ), Lewis Ritchie (LR) and Alison White (AW).

Jill Laspa (JL) attended on behalf of Ruth Griffith.

Lorna Gibbs (LG) attended on behalf of Trish Quinn.

Minutes and Action Log

The board noted:

• minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 April 2023 were agreed as true and published on our website
• all presentations from the previous meeting have been issued to Board members

Outstanding action log items:

• DHC DB 027, SL to produce a roadmap which outlines who will have access to data and the timescales for access. (No further update at this time, will be advised at a future date.)
• DHC DB 036, GW to invite SW to bring GS1 standards to Data Standards sub-board once it has been formed. (Not possible to update at this time, will be advised at a future date.)

All other action items have been completed and are up to date.

Two “below the lines papers” were issued to Board members for information purposes only:

• SEER Implementation Plan
• Information Governance Workplan

Protected Characteristics Data

Ryan Anderson, Andrea Lenssen, Scott Heald and Martin Morrison provided a presentation on Protected Characteristics Data.

The presentation covered:

• the rationale for collecting protected characteristics data
• the expectations of how collection of protected characteristics data will be improved
• an update on the Ethnicity Short Life Working Group (SLWG)
• the strategic direction of Community Health Index (CHI), which is now confirmed as the preferred point of storing protected characteristics data

The board was asked:

• to consider the proposals and provide advice for the collection and storage of protected characteristics data
• to provide leadership and direction on the considerations arising from the SLWG on ethnicity data
• if they have the right expertise to understand how racism is re-inscribed and replicated in data processes and systems and if they feel equipped to mitigate this?

The board discussed:

• the need to engage with communities to ensure that the public understand why protected characteristics data is being collected and what this will be used for. This engagement should provide clarity that this data will be used for monitoring equalities
• validating the data to ensure the data held is correct and up to date
• whether new CHI is the correct place to hold protected characteristics data
• whether the target approach to filling the new CHI system with ethnicity (and wider protected characteristics) data should link existing data or take a ‘clean slate’ approach ​
• at present funding and resource to undertake this work is limited

• the need to develop a robust roadmap highlighting where the expertise and capacity lies for collecting protected characteristics data
• board members were reflective of the challenges regarding having the right expertise to understand how racism can be reinscribed and replicated through data processes and system, and how to mitigate. Members will discuss this item in more detail at the next meeting in September

The board agreed:

• that Data Board needs to engage with the CHI Management Board to determine implementation of the strategic direction of CHI and protected characteristics data.

Next steps:

RA, SH, MW and AL to update Data Board in September regards the plan for taking this work forward, including risks and mitigations and to have wider discussion on the expertise of Data Board members in this area.

Data Strategy Delivery Plan

Ryan Anderson provided an overview of the Data Strategy Delivery Plan.

The overview covered:

• the DHAC policy team met with all delivery partners to develop the initial draft of the Data Strategy delivery plan.  This provides a baseline understanding of deliverables and will allow effective monitoring going forward.  Monitoring of the delivery plan which will be overseen by the newly formed data delivery sub-board
• the rag rating and priority status are indicative at this stage and require a more robust methodology
• the policy team will now work with delivery partners to establish reporting rhythms for each of the deliverables
• deliverables with an element of risk were highlighted

The board was asked:

• to provide comment on the presentation and content of the initial draft, including what they welcome most and what is missing
• to share thoughts, opinions and advice on the deliverables that were highlighted

The board discussed:

• the wording of some deliverables needs amended to ensure accuracy and provide clarity
• the importance of co-creation with stakeholders to ensure buy-in and consider wider work that is ongoing that will feed into priorities for the delivery plan.  This will allow understanding of both the operational and strategic context
• the need to develop a risk register to capture, score and effectively control risks associated with the delivery plan

The board agreed:

• to look over the deliverables highlighted as high risk and provide feedback to RA by correspondence

Next steps:

RA will highlight deliverables that do not currently have a lead organisation and share with delivery partners to establish lead.

Update on Digital Health and Care Governance Review  

Alistair Hodgson and Sean Doohan provided an update on Digital Health and Care Governance Review.  Ryan Anderson re-introduced the sub-governance to data board.

The update covered:

• an update on the new governance structure within Digital Health and Care
• plans for reviewing sub-governance of the new Strategic Leadership Board for Digital and Data Transformation
• progress on setting up the Data Delivery Sub-board and the Data Standards Sub-board

The board was asked:

• to note the work that has taken place to refresh the Digital Health and Care Governance including the establishment of the Strategic Leadership Board for Digital and Data Transformation
• to note the plan to create a Corporate Assurance Team to support DHAC governance including the high-level Strategic Leadership Board for Digital and Data Transformation
• to note the implementation plan for taking this work forward, considering what has worked well and what could have gone better in the operation of the Data Board
• to note and provide comment on the core functions of the Data Delivery Sub-board and the Data Standards Sub-board
• to note and provide feedback on the refreshed Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Health and Social care Data Board and the draft ToR’s for both the Data Delivery Sub-board and the Data Standards Sub-board.

The board discussed:

• the importance of ensuring that Data Board has links with wider DHAC governance boards to guarantee Data Board priorities are suitably represented and collective understanding is maintained

The board agreed:

• to review the ToR’s and provide feedback via written correspondence

Next steps:

• RA will email Board members requesting feedback on the refreshed Data Board ToR, the Data Delivery Sub-board ToR and the Data Standards Sub-board ToR.

Telecare Minimum Dataset

Gillian Fyfe presented an update on the Telecare Minimum Dataset.

The presentation covered:

• the complexity of collection and use of data in the current Telecare landscape
• the need to identify common fields and definitions for service improvement
• the potential uses of Telecare data
• this work will help us advance towards our ambitions for staff and in research as set out in the Data Strategy

The board asked:

• to provide guidance on how this dataset can be further developed in line with any upcoming policy and legislative requirements
• to advise on how to best do data linkage with this dataset
• to advise on best practice for collection of protected characteristics by Telecare Service Providers (TSPs)
• to agree to establish a sub-group which oversees future development and uses of the dataset

The board discussed:

• the need for further external engagement as there is evidence to suggest that the full range of services Telecare provide, don’t always reach the full range of users
• MG offered to have follow up conversation with GF regards co-design
• SH offered a follow up discussion with GF on how to make best use of the telecare data set
• RH offered to provide future advice on how best to do data linkage with the telecare data set to enable research

Next steps:

GF to arrange individual follow up meetings with MW, SH and RH.

Any Other Business

Next Data Board meeting: Tuesday 05 September 13:00 to 15:30