Responsibility for the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) has been transferred from Public Health England to NHS Digital.
The step has been taken as part of the Government’s reforms to the public health system announced in March.
The NDRS collects data on patients with cancer, congenital anomalies and rare diseases and consists of the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) and the National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service (NCARDRS).
This data is used as a source of information and intelligence for patients, clinicians, public health and healthcare professionals, researchers, and the commissioners of health services to drive improvements in healthcare.
As a result of the transfer, NHS Digital is now the data controller for this data under data protection law.
It said that combining the register with the other data it holds will provide a more comprehensive data service for the NHS and significant benefits for patients, clinicians, and the wider health and social care system.
Deep expertise
Fran Woodward, its executive director, data and analytics services, said: “We are delighted to welcome the National Disease Registration Service to our organisation.
“These colleagues bring deep technical and clinical expertise and share our passion for enabling high quality data to be used to improve health outcomes. We are excited to be able to work even more closely together to help improve services for patients and frontline staff.”
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