Health Data Research Service

On Monday 7 April, the Prime Minister announced that the Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service. This groundbreaking initiative will deliver significant health benefits to the UK public and patients.  

The Health Data Research Service (HDRS) will transform access to NHS data by providing a single UK-wide access point to national-scale datasets. It will provide a national health data research service, building on work across the Data for Research and Development Programme, including the NHS Research SDE Network.   

Currently health data is held in a lot of different places, managed through different access processes. HDRS will streamline and simplify those processes through a “single front door” system where researchers make standardised requests to access data, making the system simpler and more efficient to accelerate the speed at which new treatments and services start to benefit patients.  

The SDE Network is already helping to streamline and bring together data, so that it can be used to improve health and save lives.

The East Midlands SDE will continue to work with patients, the public, researchers and healthcare professionals to design and develop the service. NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are running a major national engagement programme on data—the first set of findings were published, collected from over 4000 people across England, in March 2025 here. We will continue engaging and involving the public and patients throughout the development of this service.  

We anticipate the NHSE team and Network to work together at pace over the next few months to co-design what this looks like in practice.   

The UK Government is partnering with Wellcome Trust as they are one of the largest, most prominent and respected philanthropic organisations in the UK and one of the largest medical research charities globally.   

Wellcome’s investment will support the UK Government to deliver the service more quickly but does not tie us to a specific design or delivery mode. 

East Midlands Secure Data Environment (SDE) is part of a network of 12 interoperable SDEs across England.

The network has been designed to provide faster and more secure access to different types of NHS data for research.

By improving access to NHS data, the SDE Network will enable world class research to prevent, diagnose, and treat the UK’s biggest healthcare challenges. Through this, the network will improve patient care, support innovation, and help sustain the NHS in the future.

The NHS Research SDE Network covers the whole of England and includes the NHS England Secure Data Environment and 11 regional, NHS-led SDEs, including the East Midlands.

It will become the main route for accessing NHS data for research and the network will help to ensure consistent standards and interoperability.

Read more about the national NHS Research SDE Network and its ambitions here.