A13 General Ophthalmic Services activity statistics (Annual) We will these activity statistics with the General Ophthalmic services workforce statistics. Also see ref C6 and A14. The responses showed that there is a requirement for Ophthalmic information with the majority of responses positive about the proposal to merge the workforce and activity publications provided that there is no loss of data. A number of organisations requested information at geographical currently not published. We will maintain the current publications as two separate publications. We will review the data items collected and investigate if it is possible to collect data to enable statistics to be produced at local authority and other geographical areas. We will also investigate the option of having an England only workforce section within the activity report. Unfortunately the activity report is only able to produce information for England, workforce publications currently provides information for both England and Wales. The Welsh information is critical and required for users of the workforce publication and cannot be combined and included in the NHS Digital activity publication. All data are currently published at the level of geography at which they are collected and therefore we are unable to produce information at different geographical levels. A14 General Ophthalmic services workforce statistics (Annual) We will merge these workforce statistics with the General Ophthalmic services activity statistics, once the new ophthalmic payment system is introduced and running (from 2017). Also see ref A13. A15 Hospital Episode Statistics, Admitted Patient Care - England We will reduce commentary in the Summary Report and merge the separate data quality notes into one. The name will be changed to be consistent with other HES annual publications. The responses showed the proposal amount of commentary in the was generally supported. A small responses highlighted the written summaries. In addition, the proposal to the notes received support where it was on. The name change proposal received response; however some did not understand what was meant A16 Hospital Outpatient Activity We will reduce commentary in the Summary Report and merge the separate data quality notes into one. The name will be changed to be responder
A27 Personal Social Services Adult Social Care Survey (ASCS), England We will reduce commentary and produce a high-level summary of key findings together with interactive dashboards and csv files. This will replace the existing pdf report. Also see ref C8. The responses showed that most users supported the proposals to reduce commentary whilst creating more flexible and interactive products. Respondents indicated that the proposals would have limited impact, as long as the data continue to be made available in accessible forms. We will continue to explore options around surfacing data in flexible and interactive ways, as well as working with stakeholders to incrementally develop content. Further consideration will be given to reviewing: • options available to align with other data dissemination tools in NHS Digital and beyond (eg Public Health England’s Fingertips and other similar, potentially overlapping products); • the measures and dimensions that should be prioritised for early delivery; • the types of visualizations that users will find most helpful; • options around structuring the data so it can be reviewed offline as required; • ensuring that data are easy to find and are linked to related outputs; and • ensuring meta data are available to support data discovery A28 Guardianship under the Mental Health Act, 1983 We will reduce commentary, increase the efficiency and utility of tables, and investigate other methods of presenting data. Also see ref C9. The responses showed clear support for this proposal. NHS Digital will build on the redesign of the 2015-16 report to further ensure that it meets user needs, and we commit to continuing to produce information at both national and local authority levels. We will continue to develop the report and accompanying data to ensure we best meet user We will continue to make data available in open, machine readable formats, and produce commentary and visualisations that sufficiently explain the context around the statistics. This proposal links to C9, which will see the Guardianship data move to a biennial reporting period and also see the cessation of collection of information on amendments to cases that had already been submitted in previous reporting periods.
preference for maintaining as long a time series as possible. given, on a case by case basis, on how to apply this if there is a methodological change to an indicator and how feasible or robust it is to backdate such a change. B3 Health Survey for England (HSE) We will reduce sample size for nurse visits by offering the nurse visit in 80% rather than 100% of households where HSE interviews are achieved. The Child nurse visit will be dropped in some survey years. There will be some cuts to the interview content of HSE, the details of which will be determined with advice from the HSE Steering Group. The Steering Group includes various stakeholders including the Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England. Also see ref A3. Many responses were received from a range of organisations and individuals with around half saying the reduction would have a medium or high impact. Some requested more detail about the proposed changes. Some commented that the regular collection of child saliva cotinine samples via the nurse visit provides useful data on children’s exposure to second-hand smoke and that there is not another England source for this. See response in A3: A full response taking into account feedback from several activities will available by November. B4 General Services in England We will change the of this publication to ensure it better meets users’ needs. The current publication does not report on all services and the contract for community pharmacists is under negotiation. The responses showed that the proposal will have a low impact on most users. The need to maintain time series was highlighted in the comments. We will implement this proposal. The current publication does not fully meet user need. We will maintain time series in the existing publication and look to automate the production of a more concise report. We will work with stakeholders to identify needs and where needed investigate collection of additional data to meet these needs.
D2 Personal Social Services: Staff of Social Services Departments, England We propose that this publication will cease. This is due to limitations of the current data, in that it only covers staff employed (directly and indirectly) by adult social services departments in England. The responses showed that there were mixed views on the continued provision of this publication / dataset. Whilst the need for a focused output that covers the council-based adult social care workforce exists, change is required as the scope of this collection in its current form doesn’t appear to cover the needs of all users. This year we will produce a more concise publication. Going forwards we will explore a range of options for the continuation of this publication in some form. This may be achieved by: the inclusion of deeper analysis of the council-based workforce within Skills for Care outputs (to cover the data released previously by NHS Digital); through a streamlined provision of existing data flows (essentially no change); via the creation of a more focused data collection on this subject by NHS Digital; or by exploring whether this particular requirement could fit as part of the
wider Workforce data collection, analysis and publication activities of NHS Digital. Further consideration will be given to understanding stakeholder needs, in conjunction with Skills for Care and the NHS Workforce team, as part of this exploration exercise. D3 Dissemination of Adult Social Care statistics through the National Adult We will no longer disseminate Adult Social Care statistics through the National Adult Social Care Intelligence Service (NASCIS). Data The responses showed that most users supported the proposals with respondents indicating that the proposals would have limited impact, as long as We will decommission NASCIS. In parallel we will also explore options around surfacing data in flexible and interactive ways, as well as working with stakeholders to incrementally
Social Care Intelligence Service (NASCIS) would be disseminated instead through other channels. the data continue to be made available in accessible forms. develop content. Further consideration will be given to reviewing: • options available to align with other data dissemination tools in NHS Digital and beyond (eg Public Health England’s Fingertips and other similar, potentially overlapping products); • the measures and dimensions that should be prioritised for early delivery; • the types of visualizations that users will find most helpful;
linkage information was not relevant to HES monthly customers. The different reporting periods between monthly HES and HES-DID linkage was thought to be potentially confusing. Concerns were also raised over whether the proposals affect the future development of the Diagnostic Imaging Dataset (DID). To confirm that the proposals do not have any impact on the DID and only cover HES-DID linkage. D5 Numbers of Patients We will stop this quarterly publication. Some information will continue to be available at The responses showed overwhelming opposition for this proposal. The majority of respondents said it would have a high impact on them and their We will commit to continue producing and publishing these statistics. The feedback from this consultation will be used as
registered at a GP practice national via Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) Recorded Dementia Diagnoses. work, prohibiting them from performing their statutory function or completing crucial research. The data is used as a basic building block for various analyses and also as rough estimates of population. Alternative sources were cited as not suitable or fit for purpose. evidence for the wide-ranging uses various organisations and academics have for this data. D6 Provisional Accident and Emergency Quality Indicators - England We will stop this monthly publication due to unclear need. The feedback received provided clarity on the need for these statistics. The Accident and Emergency Quality indicators are widely used as balancing measures in local systems, and are relied on by commissioners and providers locally. They are also used nationally to provide We will continue with the production and publication of these indicators until a replacement has been developed as part of the Urgent and Emergency Care Review.