DataLoch brings together routine data collected as part of people’s day-to-day interactions with health and social care services. These data include the services used, details of visits to hospitals or GPs, treatments, medicines prescribed, as well as outcomes and test results.

These data enable researchers to answer important questions about how the wellbeing of people could be improved. There are many examples of how health data research has delivered insights to help solve challenging health problems, including diagnosing rare diseases, improving the performance and equity of care, identifying diseases early, and assessing the effectiveness of health service.

About the Data

 

To discover the projects that have used DataLoch-hosted data, visit our Projects Delivered page.

Projects Delivered

 

Quick Links

Bringing Data Together

Data generated through our engagement with health and social care services is held by different organisations using different structures. At DataLoch, we work hard to capture the meanings of the data, tidy them, and work with clinicians to ensure the data are genuinely research ready. Discover more through our brief animation.

Data Security

A close up of a man's hands using a laptop keyboard with a stethoscope next to it.

DataLoch brings together routine data collected as part of people’s day-to-day interactions with health and social care services. NHS Lothian is the lead Data Controller of all data hosted by DataLoch. Protecting the individual identities of all those in the data is the DataLoch team’s most important priority.

Data Security

How to Apply

Doctor holding a stethoscope against a soft toy bear whilst a child looks on and laughs.

As well as service-management requests from the NHS, DataLoch also considers applications from researchers who wish to securely access health and social care data from the South-East Scotland region. Researchers can be from private- and third-sector organisations, as well as from academic or clinical settings. Applicants and applications need to meet a number of key governance criteria to ensure their purposes are legitimate and in the public interest.

How to Apply