Help getting started on the data sharing platform

Sharing your feedback and signposting data with us

We're asking you to share your feedback and signposting data with us via our new secure data-sharing platform. This lets you map your data categories to the standard taxonomy and save your settings for future use.

The data-sharing platform will upload your data to the National Data Store, which our research team uses for national analysis.

Why you should share your data with us

Sharing your data with us is a legal requirement.

We rely on local Healthwatch insight to understand trends in how people experience health and social care services. For us to be an effective champion we need to be able to hear from all communities across the country.

Building links with under-represented groups and attending engagement events lets Healthwatch collect rich data, which makes our insight unique and valued by policymakers and service providers.

Over half of all Healthwatch are now using the platform to share data with us – many more than used to use the CiviCRM.  We’ve had lots of positive feedback about the ease of using the system.

What you need to know before sharing data with us

You’ll need to have ready a .csv file (in .csv-UTF-8 format) of your usual feedback and signposting data. We can help you convert it to the correct format. Your file must include the following fields:

• The date you collected the feedback or signposting data
• The actual feedback itself
• The type of services the feedback is about (e.g. GP, dentist, etc.)

We’d also like you to share the following fields (if you collect this information):

• The sentiment of the data
• The title or summary of the feedback
• The themes of the feedback (e.g. access to services, quality of care etc)
• Demographic information on age, gender, ethnicity, disability and long-term condition

There are other fields you can share with us – check out the complete list of fields.

Watch the video above to see how the data sharing platform works.

What's next for you?

We're contacting all Healthwatch to arrange a session to learn how to use the platform.

We’ll also ask you to sign a data sharing agreement. This has been developed on the advice of data protection experts and in line with guidance from the Information Commissioners Office, for any system or process involving data sharing between Healthwatch and Healthwatch England.

The agreement sets out our roles and standards of what is expected from the arrangement and each party, with a schedule for each system.

If you have any questions about the data sharing platform, please contact datasharing@healthwatch.co.uk.