University Hospitals of Leicester joins PIONEER, strengthening acute care research across the Midlands
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) has joined PIONEER, the Health Data Research Hub for Acute Care, strengthening a growing partnership using health data to support research and improve care for people who become acutely unwell.
PIONEER was established in 2019 as one of Health Data Research UK’s Health Data Research Hubs. It is led by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), working with the University of Birmingham and West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust, alongside a growing network of NHS and academic partners.
PIONEER brings together health data from across urgent and acute care to support research, including data from ambulance services, hospitals, primary and community care. Its growing network includes University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, with further NHS organisations currently in discussion to join.
The addition of UHL further extends PIONEER’s coverage across the Midlands and brings another large and diverse patient population into the partnership. It creates new opportunities for researchers to study acute illness across different NHS organisations, care settings and communities.
Scale and diversity are important for health data research. Findings developed using data from a single organisation or population may not always translate to other settings. Working across multiple NHS organisations and different patient populations provides opportunities to test whether findings are reproducible and to develop and evaluate approaches using data that better represent the communities served by the NHS.
No joint research projects between UHL and PIONEER have yet been agreed. The partnership creates opportunities to develop future projects in areas of shared interest, which could include:
- Earlier identification of patients at risk of deterioration during or following an emergency admission.
- Understanding the microbial causes of infection and patterns of antimicrobial use across acute care.
- Medicines optimisation and the safe use of higher-risk medicines.
- Research into models of acute care, including patient flow, capacity and discharge.
The partnership is supported by appropriate information governance and data sharing arrangements. Data made available through PIONEER are managed within its approved governance arrangements, with access for research subject to appropriate review and oversight.
PIONEER’s Data Trust Committee includes public representatives who help scrutinise how data are used and review application requests for data access. The National Data Opt-Out is respected where it applies.
UHL is the latest NHS organisation to join PIONEER’s growing network. PIONEER already works with NHS partners including University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust. Further NHS organisations are at different stages of discussion and onboarding.
By expanding the organisations, care settings and populations represented within PIONEER, the partnership aims to create a stronger resource for acute care research and enable findings to be tested across different NHS settings and patient populations.
Statement from Professor Elizabeth Sapey
Managing Director, PIONEER Health Data Research Hub for Acute Care
“Welcoming University Hospitals of Leicester to PIONEER is an important step in the continued growth of our partnership. By bringing together expertise and health data from different NHS organisations, care settings and communities, we can address important questions in acute care that are difficult to answer in isolation. Leicester adds significant clinical and academic expertise and further strengthens the diversity of the populations represented within PIONEER. This will help us produce research that is relevant across the NHS and, ultimately, improve care and outcomes for patients.”
Statement from Professor Nigel Brunskill
Director of Research and Innovation, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust; Director, NIHR Leicester Clinical Research Facility; Professor of Renal Medicine, University of Leicester
“Joining PIONEER is an important opportunity for Leicester to build on our strengths in clinical research and work with NHS and academic partners to make better use of health data for patient benefit. Many of the challenges facing acute care are shared across organisations and cannot be addressed by working in isolation. This partnership will enable us to contribute our expertise and the experience of the diverse communities we serve, while learning from others, to support research that can improve how acute care is delivered locally and across the NHS.”ur expertise and the experience of the diverse communities we serve, while learning from others, to support research that can improve how acute care is delivered locally and across the NHS.”
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