By Dr. Zharain Bawa, Secure Data Environment Product Director, Health Innovation Manchester and NHS Greater Manchester

As we reflect on 2025, it’s clear that the Secure Data Environment (SDE) in Greater Manchester has become much more than a technical platform, it’s a catalyst for real change in the lives of our patients, clinicians, and communities.

We’ve made great strides in developing the SDE as a service, building a dedicated team and deepening our expertise. From the ground up, we’ve established a robust infrastructure and a collaborative culture that enables users including clinicians, researchers, and analysts to progress confidently with their healthcare data research projects. Our work with the North West SDE network has been a particular highlight, fostering knowledge sharing and harmonising standards across Greater Manchester, Cheshire & Merseyside, and Lancashire & South Cumbria ICBs. Together, we’ve created a federated model that not only strengthens data security and governance but also unlocks new opportunities for large-scale, impactful research.

This year, the SDE has powered a range of exemplar projects, each designed to tackle the region’s most pressing health challenges with data-driven insight, robust security and privacy, and a commitment to equity. Along with this, we have developed strong relationships with our users and organisations and are grateful for their ongoing collaborations within the health data research space.

Projects include:

1) Virtual Wards: Hospital-Level Care at Home

One of the year’s standout successes has been the evaluation of Virtual Wards. By securely linking data across primary and secondary care including emergency care data, the SDE has enabled us to understand how patients move through the system, recover at home, and avoid unnecessary hospital stays. Over 1,000 virtual beds have been established in GM, supporting NHS priorities for urgent and emergency care, which will give us a view on improving quality of care and experience and reducing burden on in-patient settings. Listen to ‘Virtual Wards: Using the Secure Data Environment to Drive Real-World Change’ on Spotify:

2) Tackling Diabetes and Heart Failure

The ODIN-GM project has harnessed the SDE to track patient journeys for diabetes, stroke, heart failure, and obesity. With over 860,000 patient records analysed, commissioners will have access to dashboards that will be developed with the aim of simulating service changes, address COVID-related backlogs, and target interventions where they’re needed most. Early detection projects like EARLY-HF are using real-world data to identify individuals at risk of heart failure, enabling earlier intervention and better outcomes, especially for underserved communities.

3) Personalising Medicine with Pharmacogenetics

The Pharmacogenetics project aims to understand how genetics affect medication response. The SDE will allow the linkage of genetic data to medications prescribed and health outcomes, paving the way for more personalised treatments and reduced adverse drug reactions. These insights will help ensure that innovations in pharmacogenetics benefit all communities, not just a select few.

4) Improving Cancer Care Pathways

The ADAPT project has empowered cancer survivors and their GPs to co-manage long-term care, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and improving quality of life. By comparing outcomes for patients on the ADAPT pathway versus standard care, the SDE is providing data insights to support better risk management and long-term health for those who need it most.

5) Screening for Lung Cancer in Underserved Communities

Early screening saves lives, but uptake can be low in deprived areas. The SDE has enabled detailed analysis of risk models and screening eligibility, helping us maximise the benefits of screening, minimise harm, and reduce health inequalities across Greater Manchester.

Looking Ahead

As we start thinking about the year ahead, from a service perspective, we will look forward to contributing to the future development of the UK-wide Health Data Research Service (HDRS) as part of the North West SDE and how we can look at future opportunities from arising from a regional and national level.

Finally, it’s worth remembering that the SDE is more than a repository of information, it’s a foundation for integrated, data-driven care. Its success is measured not just in technical milestones but in the empowerment of clinicians, researchers, and our population. Together, we’re building a legacy that will outlast us, ensuring that future generations can benefit from the innovations we’ve started today.