Wales sets out to create a single national clinical data repository by 2030

Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) has set out a mission to join up health and social care data by ensuring it flows to and from the National Data Resource (NDR) platform.

The plans are outlined in the ‘Organisational Strategy 2024-2030‘, published on 14 June 2024, which sets out DHCW’s digital plans for the next six years.

Helen Thomas, chief executive of DHCW, said: “This new long-term strategy represents an important milestone in the evolution of Digital Health and Care Wales.

“It lays out our bold vision for the next six years to provide world leading digital services, empowering people in Wales to live healthier lives by developing digital solutions to support high quality, sustainable and innovative health and care that meets the needs of healthcare professionals, patients and the public.

“Through the delivery of this strategy DHCW aims to make digital a force for good in health and care.”

One of the strategic missions included in the strategy is to “provide a platform for enabling digital transformation”.

The national platform, hosted by DHCW and funded by the Welsh Government, is planned to join up services and make data easier to access and analyse in a safe, secure and ethical manner.

DHCW wants to move all of its data stores and services to the already established NDR platform to create “a single national clinical data repository”.

By 2030, the authority also aims to have all of its digital health systems and major social care systems flow data to and from the NDR platform.

Another strategic mission is for DHCW is to expand the digital health and care record to all settings throughout Wales.

The strategy states: “We will have a digital health and care record for each person in Wales that will follow that person for their lifetime. This data will be the source of truth for all a person’s health data, regardless of where it was originally stored or who it was created by.

“This will give a complete and coordinated view of a person’s health, help people to make better decisions about their care, improving the quality of care provided.”

In total, the strategy sets out 20 strategic objectives, aligned to five strategic missions that explain what DHCW will achieve by 2030 through working with stakeholders and partners.

The operational strategy is the first long-term strategy from DHCW since it was established as a special health authority, which is responsible for planning and delivering NHS services, in 2021.

In May 2024, DHCW announced that it will implement InterSystems TrakCare Lab Enterprise, enabling NHS Wales to offer more efficient, streamlined pathology services to patients.

The second site in Wales rolled out electronic prescribing in March 2024, following the launch of country’s electronic prescribing system in November 2023.