The United Kingdom Health Statistics theme groups

Aim 1

We aim to improve accessibility and coherence of official statistics.

Aim 2

We aim to reduce the need for duplication in data collection and analysis to make sure producers of official statistics are working effectively.

Aim 3

We aim to harmonise methods and definitions used, where possible, and help users understand differences between methods and terminology used in analysis.

Aim 4

We aim to identify evidence gaps and priority areas for improvement and contribute to the development of statistics.

Aim 5

We aim to share learning and updates on projects to improve our understanding of the data landscape and act as a conduit between producers of statistics across the UK.

Aim 6

We aim to improve our understanding of our users and coordinate user engagement.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘Adult social care’ in the subject line.

Members

• Department of Health and Social Care
• Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• NHS England
• Office for National Statistics
• Scottish Government
• Welsh Government

These three theme groups have now merged. However, they will have individual action plans to work against. All actions plans will be added once available.

Drugs theme group

Aim 1

We plan to create an online area to help members of the group work together. Users will be able to use the online area to: communicate, share documents and share publication dates and calendars.

Progress

The online area for the group has been set up, using Teams. Documents have been added. Theme group members have been invited to access the area. Some members were unable to join due to IT restrictions at their organisations.

Aim 2

Promote statistical coherence.

Progress

Standing agenda item on coherence established. Discussions held between England-Scotland on prevalence and England-Wales on annual drug statistics. Spreadsheet with all relevant statistics created.

Aim 3

We plan to talk to other theme groups to see if there might be some useful cross over or if guests joining from other theme groups would be informative such as alcohol or mortality where there are close links.

Progress

Drugs, alcohol and smoking theme groups have merged.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘Drugs theme group’ in the subject line.

Aim 1

Harmonise methods. Identify where cancer statistics cover similar topics.

Progress

We created a framework that categorised statistical releases into ‘epidemiology’, ‘pathways’, and ‘outcomes’, and mapped all of our statistical releases onto that framework to identify gaps and areas of overlap.

Aim 2

Harmonise methods. Where statistics cover similar topics, we aim to remove or justify methodological differences.

Progress

For areas of overlap, we have convened Task & Finish groups consisting of producers of those statistics, with the aim of identifying whether it is possible to align methodologies. These are currently underway.

Aim 3

Improve coherence. We will aim to coordinate releases of cancer data across producers and nations.

Progress

For areas of overlap, we have convened Task & Finish groups consisting of producers of those statistics, with the aim of identifying whether alignment is possible. These are currently underway.

Aim 4

Improve coherence. We aim to make our terminology clearer and more consistent across outputs.

Progress

For areas of overlap, we have convened Task & Finish groups consisting of producers of those statistics, with the aim of identifying whether alignment is possible. These are currently underway. Further, we have invited Cancer Research UK representatives into the group to support ways that we can make data more accessible.

Aim 5

Improve accessibility. We will aim to improve the access to cancer data by creating a centralised hub for available data.

Aim 6

Improve accessibility. We will improve signposting of cancer statistics across producers through a publication matrix and where the data can be found. This will be published on the Analysis Function webpages and on statistics producers own web pages.

Aim 7

Understand user needs. We will aim to engage with our users to understand how best to present statistics.

Aim 8

Understand user needs. We will aim to engage with our users to identify any gaps in cancer data available.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘Cancer theme group’ in the subject line.

Members

• Cancer Research UK
• Department of Health and Social Care
• Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• NHS England
• Public Health Scotland
• Public Health Wales
• Welsh Government

Aim 1

We aim to improve the visibility of outputs across theme group organisations. This also involves identifying areas that would benefit from coordination to improve coherence.

Progress

The group meets every two months, where updates are provided on recent and upcoming publications. The ONS has begun a coherence exercise where information on births statistics, including definitions, variable breakdowns, and publication timetables, has been provided from a range of births statistics producers from all four UK nations. The ONS is currently working on producing tailored information for each nation on areas where we could improve UK coherence in births statistics.

Aim 2

We aim to improve our understanding of our users and coordinate user engagement.

Progress

The group membership includes both producers and users of births statistics. By expanding membership, we have been able to provide a forum for feedback on upcoming and recently implemented changes to Child and Maternal Health publications.

Aim 3

We aim to work together to improve the availability of child and maternal health data, with particular focus on themes of health inequality such as ethnicity and deprivation.

Progress

The theme group has already shown value in highlighting differences in child and maternal health data production across the UK. Through alignment of our statistics across the UK, we will soon be able to make better data comparisons, allowing us to identify geographical differences in important statistics such as child and maternal mortality.

Aim 4

We aim to review the use of geographical breakdowns in outputs, better aligning granularity across the UK, and providing more detailed geographic breakdowns where appropriate.

Progress

As part of the coherence exercise, recommendations will soon be made to better align the granularity of data provided across the UK.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘Child and Maternal Health’ in the subject line.

Members

• Care Quality Commission
• Department of Health and Social Care
• Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit
• National Records of Scotland
• NHS England
• Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
• Office for National Statistics
• Public Health Scotland
• UK Health Security Agency
• Welsh Government

Aim 1

We aim to provide meaningful comparisons of secondary care waiting time and performance statistics across the UK. The comparisons should concentrate on similarities between the data rather than differences.

Progress

Articles have been published on the analyst function website and ONS website detailing coherence of key metrics in performance statistics covering Ambulances, waiting times for planned care, A&E waiting times, and Cancer. The group continues to monitor and review these to ensure any changes to publications are captured and make improvements or additions as these are identified.

Aim 2

We aim to look at and inform novel ways of comparing secondary care performance including use of survey data, outcome and other quality metrics.

Progress

This work is ongoing.

Aim 3

Contribute to the development of statistics and act as a conduit between producers of statistics across the UK. This will help ensure coherence across the UK in the longer term.

Progress

This work is ongoing.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘Cross-UK Performance Statistics’ in the subject line.

Members

• Department of Health and Social Care
• Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• NHS England
• Office for National Statistics
• Public Health Scotland
• Scottish Government
• Public Health Wales

Aim 1

We aim to improve accessibility and coherence of official statistics.

Aim 2

We aim to reduce the need for duplication in data collection and analysis to make sure producers of official statistics are working effectively.

Aim 3

We aim to harmonise methods and definitions used, where possible, and help users understand differences between methods and terminology used in analysis.

Aim 4

We aim to identify evidence gaps and priority areas for improvement and contribute to the development of statistics.

Aim 5

We aim to share learning and updates on projects to improve our understanding of the data landscape and act as a conduit between producers of statistics across the UK.

Aim 6

We aim to improve our understanding of our users and coordinate user engagement.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘End of life care’ in the subject line.

Members

• Care Quality Commission
• Department of Health and Social Care
• NHS England
• Office for National Statistics
• Public Health Scotland
• Public Health Wales

Aim 1

We will keep group members informed of ongoing and upcoming work, including publications, on the topic of health inequalities.

Aim 2

Use the group as a forum of expertise to share and discuss methodologies and data.

Aim 3

We aim to improve accessibility and coherence of health inequalities related statistics.

Aim 4

We aim to improve user engagement with statistics, data and publications.

Aim 5

We aim to keep a UK-wide scope with representatives of the four nations in the group.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘Health inequalities’ in the subject line.

Members

• Department of Health and Social Care
• Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• NHS England
• Office for National Statistics
• Scottish Government
• Welsh Government

Aim 1 

We aim to work together to: 

• improve the visibility of outputs 
• co-ordinate publications 
• improve the coherence of Official Statistics across producers and within the four nations 

Progress 

1. Co-ordinated publication of deaths by suicide at upper and lower tier authorities in England between ONS and OHID in terms of publication dates and data extraction to ensure there is no differences in counts of suicide by local area sometimes resulting from differences in postcode lookup files used. 
2. Co-ordinated publications and definitions between OHID and NHS England for premature and excess mortality rates for adults with serious mental illness. 

Aim 2

We aim to work together to: 

• harmonise methods and definitions used in mental health analysis, where possible 
• help users understand differences between methods and terminology used in mental health analysis within the four nations 

Progress

1. Aligned and validated with research community the list of diagnostic codes used in primary care to identify mental health conditions.  
2. Published the code used to produce the MHSDS monthly and annual publications. Provided webinars to support users of the new referral-spell measures in MHSDS to discuss methodology and answer queries.  
3. Published SNOMED reference sets for the codes used within the MHSDS to help users. 
4. Aligned age specific indicator groupings at local level in Fingertips profiles with age groups published by ONS at England level. 
5. Established working group to look at the differences in the definition of death by suicide across the four nations. 
6. Aligned self harm and suicide definitions between OHID and ONS for suicide and sexual orientation publication. 

Aim 3

We aim to: 

• improve our understanding of our users 
• coordinate user engagement 

This will enable us to identify evidence gaps and priority areas for development and improvement. 

Progress

1. Focussed section on mental health within the Health Statistics User Consultation covering a number of different Government organisations official statistics providing insights into user need. 
2. User consultation by NHS England to improve monthly and annual reporting from the Mental Health Services Dataset. 
3. OHID engagement webinars and surveys for users of the Real Time Suspected Suicide Surveillance dashboard. 

Aim 4

We aim to: 

• improve the coverage and quality of mental health data 
• reduce the need for duplication of data collections 

Progress

1. Out of Area Placements and CYP Eating Disorders bespoke data collections retired. MHSDS official source for both of these.  
2. Improved coverage of the MHSDS, approximately 400 providers submit each month including NHS Trusts, VCSE, ISPs.  
3. Focussed work on improving the data quality of the MHSDS, focussing on key fields such as protected characteristics or key publication measures such as waiting times. Provide support for providers 1:1 or via webinars or user guidance. Improvements have meant the MHSDS is now classed as Official Statistics due to the improvement in data quality.  
4. Exploring the capacity to widen the scope of the MHSDS to include crisis text services and data from prisons. 

Aim 5 

We aim to share knowledge and insights to help monitor post-pandemic recovery of mental health. 

Progress

1. Mental Health of Children and Young People Survey follows ups conducted between 2020 – 2023 following the 2017 cohort of children to understand changes in mental health during and after the pandemic. 
2. Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey conducted in 2023-2024 which will give insights into mental health post pandemic. Due to report later in 2025. 
3. OHID and NHS England working together to provide further understanding on the impact of the pandemic on the cause of death for adults with severe mental illness following publication of the report on ‘Premature mortality during COVID-19 in adults with severe mental illness’. 

Aim 6

We aim to improve the support and training available to users of mental health data. 

Progress

1. NHS England MHSDS upskilling programme in development to help train users of mental health data, module 1 and 2 now available https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/MHSDS-upskilling.   
2. Running quarterly webinars for users of Dashboard for Suicide Prevention Professionals to help with best use of data and clear understanding of strengths and limitations of the dataset. 

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘Mental health’ in the subject line.

Members

• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Trust
• Care Quality Commission
• Department for Education
• Department of Health and Social Care
• Department for Work and Pensions
• NHS England
• Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
• Office for National Statistics
• Public Health Scotland
• Public Health Wales
• Scottish Government
• University College London
• Welsh Government

Aim 1

We will keep group members informed of upcoming mortality publications, as well as informing each other of changes and developments of any new and existing methods and definitions.

Progress

We hold a monthly meeting of the group which is an opportunity for members to share information on published mortality releases as well as upcoming mortality publications.

Aim 2

We aim to ensure we signpost within releases to other related mortality statistics so that users are kept informed of a wider range of mortality statistics which they might be interested in.

Progress

The ONS includes clear signposting to other mortality publications within all ONS mortality releases. The theme group will aim to agree a clear way of signposting to other mortality publications within all releases covered by the theme group.

Aim 3

We aim to coordinate publications, analysis and advice. Reduce duplication and deliver efficiencies.

Progress

We previously discussed the health and social care consultation. The group produced a mortality action plan which provided details on what actions will be taken following the consultation feedback. The action plan included several proposals to merge publications and deliver efficiency savings.

Aim 4

Coordinate user engagement and deliver a seamless service to users.

Progress

User engagement was coordinated by the group through the consultation on health and social care outputs which provided a range of feedback from users on mortality outputs. This feedback was analysed by the group and incorporated into an action plan.

Aim 5

Provide summary information to users on the comparability of mortality statistics produced across the UK.

Progress

The theme group recently produced an article on the Coherence of weekly deaths statistics in the UK to summarise the coherence of weekly death statistics produced across the UK. This will help users interested in comparing weekly death statistics produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) across the UK.

Aim 6

Improve communication and interpretation of mortality statistics for users.

Progress

The ONS recently produced a new dashboard to disseminate weekly death statistics in England and Wales. This is a more visual and accessible way of communicating the statistics and has received positive feedback from users of the statistics. NISRA are also currently developing a dashboard to display their weekly death statistics.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘Mortality theme group’ in the subject line.

Members

• Department of Health and Social Care
• Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• National Records Scotland
• Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
• Office for National Statistics
• Public Health Wales
• Scottish Government
• UK Health Security Agency
• Welsh Government

Aim 1

We will develop an understanding of the coherence of experience data in the UK and identify areas where it is feasible and desirable to improve coherence.

Aim 2

We aim to identify topics where it would be beneficial to coordinate releases of experience data across producers and nations.

Aim 3

We aim to identify topics where it would be feasible and beneficial to harmonise methods. We aim to remove methodological differences, or to explain and justify them.

Aim 4

We aim to identify data gaps in experience data and explore possibilities for filling these gaps.

Aim 5

We will facilitate and promote collaborative working.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘NHS patient experience’ in the subject line.

Members

• Care Quality Commission
• Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• NHS England
• Office for National Statistics
• Scottish Government
• Welsh Government

Aim 1

Create a resource to improve the understanding of existing workforce statistics from across the four nations, highlighting areas that are and are not comparable. This will help users understand the differences and whether comparisons across the four nations are advisable.

Aim 2

Develop a shared understanding of specific workforce metrics (for example vacancies, absence and turnover) to further build the resource above and share knowledge and known issues which could feed into potential improvements across the four nations. This could potentially improve the range and comparability of metrics available to users.

Aim 3

We aim to improve our understanding of our users, share knowledge and coordinate user engagement where practical. This should enable us to better meet our user’s needs and in particular better understand any gaps in our data.

Aim 4

We aim to share analytical techniques, methodologies and processes and promote consistency.

Aim 5

We will share upcoming developments keeping each other informed so we can continue to learn.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘NHS workforce’ in the subject line.

Members

• Department of Health and Social Care
• Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• NHS Education for Scotland
• NHS England
• NHS Scotland
• Welsh Government

Aim 1

Ensure the group has representation from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland by the end of 2022.

Progress

This aim has been achieved.

Aim 2

Group members will meet at least 2 or 3 times each year to share updates on recent projects to improve statistics on obesity, physical activity and nutrition. This will help to promote harmonisation and avoid duplication.

Progress

This aim is currently being achieved. This objective is ongoing.

Aim 3

Identify evidence gaps and priorities.

Progress

This aim is currently being achieved by having of policy analysts in the group. This objective is ongoing.

Aim 4

Investigate the possibility of publishing UK estimates of obesity prevalence by the end of 2024.

Progress

This aim is ongoing. This work is not currently possible because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health surveys and national child measurement programmes, which has reduced comparability across the four nations. This will be reconsidered as these data collections evolve following the pandemic. Meanwhile, the group has produced a matrix exploring similarities and differences in current data collections and methodologies. If you would like a copy of the matrix, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk.

Aim 5

Oversee and implement the response to the Health and Social Care Statistics consultation.

Progress

This aim is ongoing. A draft action plan has been submitted to the central team running the consultation.  We will then move on to implementing the action plan once the response to the consultation is published.

Contact

For further information on this theme group, please email GSS.Health@ons.gov.uk with the keywords ‘Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet’ in the subject line.

Members

• Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• NHS England
• Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
• Office for National Statistics
• Public Health Scotland
• Scottish Government
• Sport England
• Welsh Government

The action plan for this theme group will be added once available