Using and accessing NELA+ data
The NELA+ team are keen for NELA+ data to be used to maximal patient benefit. Thus, in addition to formal outputs by the central Project Team in the form of annual reports and dashboards, we actively encourage and support external proposals for secondary uses.
It is essential that the anonymity of the people included in the database is protected and that the data are used in an ethical way. We therefore provide two types of data from NELA+, aggregate data and patient level data.
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These are data at the level of an individual hospital. NELA+ already openly publish a large amount of data at aggregate levels and so these data do not need to be requested.
If you wish to access a small amount of anonymous and aggregate information that has not yet been published by NELA+, please contact HQIP or NELA+ directly. These requests may not require the completion of a Data Access Request Form, in which case they will be processed as Information Sharing Requests instead.
Contact HQIP: datasharing@hqip.org.ukContact NELA+: NELA@rcoa.ac.uk
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Individual, patient-level data is also available to external researchers following an application process.
As NELA+'s funder and data controller, the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) must review and approve all requests for patient level data.
If you would like to apply for patient level NELA+ data, please contact us at NELA@rcoa.ac.uk before you submit an application to HQIP. The NELA+ team will advise if your data requirements can be met and will need to review and approve your application ahead of it being submitted to HQIP.
To receive patient level data, you are likely to need a recognised data safe haven that complies with certain IG standards.
Before applying, please first read HQIP's guidance which can be found on their website - linked below
You should be aware that if your application is approved, there may be fees associated with the sharing of data from both NELA+ and HQIP. NELA+'s cost recovery policy can be found below
Download application forms below
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The NELA+ dataset includes data on inpatient mortality. This can be provided under either of the above requests. If you require any other mortality data, you will need to make a separate data application via NHS England to request ONS date of death alongside the HQIP data access request process. Although NELA+ obtains ONS date of death for its annual reports, we are legally unable to share date of death that is directly taken or derived from ONS mortality (ie date of death, or alive/dead at 30 days).
Data Access Quick Links
Data Access Request Form (DARF)
HQIP website information
Data Access FAQ's
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Local teams from hospitals that take part in NELA+ have access to their hospital’s data entered as part of the audit and can use this information for local quality improvement. Requests for data from researchers external to the participating organisation must go through the application and approvals process.
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Local data used by local participating teams do not need to inform NELA+ of how this data is being used. However, NELA+ must be attributed as the source of the data in publications or reports.
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Please attribute NELA+ as:
‘The National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA+), Royal College of Anaesthetists'. When describing funding please include the following statement 'NELA+ was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), funded by NHS England and Welsh Government and it is part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP).'
Additional information about authorship is provided here.
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The first step is to reach out to the NELA+ project team via email to discuss your request. The team will then determine if the request is suitable or not, or if further information is required. In all cases, accepted proposals will need approval by the Data Access Request Group (DARG) hosted by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), the commissioners and data controllers of NELA+.
Successful applications to the DARG will then require a data sharing agreement to be signed before data can be released. There is more information on this process in the section above.
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No. NELA+ can only release anonymous or pseudonymous data.
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Yes, following the processes described above. However, we are unlikely to be able to provide access to data that has not yet been published or that is not otherwise in the public domain.
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Yes, NELA+ has already collaborated with research teams on the EPOCH, EL Collaborative and ALPINE projects.
Every approach for collaboration will be considered by the NELA+ team, and the decision on whether this can proceed will depend on the nature of the project and the capacity of the NELA+ team.
If you wish to collaborate with the NELA+ team then please contact us to discuss.
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Some requests for aggregate data and all requests for patient level data will incur a fee both from HQIP and NELA+.
The charges are to recover the costs of managing the applications process and preparing extracts of data. The costs are likely to depend on the degree of complexity of the application, and will depend on whether this is limited to a simple extract of data, or requires additional input such as methodological or statistical support.
We will be able to advise on costs once your completed application form is received. Fee schedules for NELA and HQIP are linked above.
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No. Data can only be used in the manner described in the agreed research protocol. If you wish to carry out further studies not specified in the protocol then approval will need to be granted by the NELA+ team and the DARG at HQIP.
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There are no restrictions on keeping aggregate data.
However, extracts of patient level data must be securely destroyed after an agreed time specified in your DARF. Applicants should formally inform NELA+ and HQIP once data have been securely destroyed. -
We expect that all studies using patient level data will be written up and published in a peer-reviewed publication. This is true even for 'negative' studies as the risk of publication bias from observational studies is even greater than for interventional studies.
Wherever possible publications should be Open Access and researchers should include the costs of open access publication in funding applications for studies using NELA+ data.
All studies using patient level data must be notified to HQIP in advance of publication.
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NELA+ meetings are generally held monthly and applications are reviewed within these meetings. More complex applications may need discussion at more than one meeting. Therefore the minimum timescale before receiving a reply is likely to be one month, but the process may take longer for more complex applications. Turnaround times for HQIP review can be found at the sites linked above.
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Under GDPR the following legal bases apply: processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller (Article 6 (1) (e and (Article 9 (2)(i processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health or ensuring high standards of quality and safety of health care and of medicinal products or medical devices, on the basis of Union or Member State law which provides for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject, in particular professional secrecy.
Under the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality (CLDC), NELA+ uses Section 251 as its legal basis to meet the CLDC.
NELA+ currently has approval under Section 251 to collect patient level data (reference number: CAG 5-07(d)/2013) for all emergency laparotomy patients admitted to hospital.