T he South West Public Health Observatory           

Access to Hospital Episodes Statistics for the South West via the SWPHO
Safe Haven In collaboration with the University of Bristol
 


What is it?

The Department of Health is broadening access to the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) through a new information service being operated by PHOs. Under the HES ‘Safe Haven’ system, a number of variables from the HES dataset for the South West Region are now held at the Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol. Data are currently available for the period 1991 to 2002. See the list of variables below.

See the Hospital Episode Statistics Data Dictionary (hosted by the Department of Health) for more comprehensive information on the variables info on HES .

Please read the following  information before going to the Data Request Section (link below)
 

 

What will the service consist of?

1: Key Indicators
A number of routine statistical outputs, referred to as ‘Key Indicators’, will be made available at PCT level. This list will be produced following a consultation exercise with various organisations within the South West Region. Although the list has not yet been finalised, an example of a Key Indicator might be the sex specific age-standardised procedure rates for coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs) for each PCT in the South West Region; such an indicator would be used to inform progress in relation to the National Service Framework on CHD.

2: Ad hoc analyses
To complement the provision of key indicators we shall also be providing an ad hoc request service, as we recognise that from time-to-time there will be a requirement for HES statistical outputs that are not routinely produced. For example, the identification and differentiation of primary and revision hip or knee replacement procedures according to the hospital episode in which these procedures took place. The principle condition attached to this service is that the information requested should inform regional knowledge and not just be a local enquiry, and that the information requested could not reasonably be obtained from another source.

Who is this service for? 

This service is primarily for analysts based in PCTs, but health professionals and those involved in partnerships with health (e.g. Local Authorities) will also be able to access HES through this service.

Will it cost me anything?  

Both the key indicators and the ad hoc service will be provided free at the point of enquiry, although as with any service this may need to be reviewed in the future. Depending on the demand for the ad hoc service and the current resources available we may need to limit the number of requests for information, perhaps by restricting the number of requests to a set number per PCT, although it is not our wish to do so.

Important information 

Finally, we would like to advise enquirers that use of the HES dataset is governed by both the Data Protection Act and by guidelines decided by the Department of Health, both of which are designed to protect not only the individual patient but also the individual practitioner or care provider. Consequently, it is not currently permitted for us to release data at ward level or below, nor are we able to release information such as GP practice code if this would enable an individual GP to be identified.

Further information 

If you have suggestions for the list of key indicators, or would like to discuss an ad hoc request, please contact Roy Maxwell using the form linked below. Comments are also welcome.

Please note that due to the complexity of the HES database and the range of information that may be requested there is no pro forma as such to complete, and consequently you are requested to please provide a comprehensive description of your request. In addition to listing the variables that you are interested in please remember to include in your request information such as:

i) the time period of analysis;
ii) whether or not you wish the analysis to be restricted to residents only;
iii) whether or not you have suitable denominator data for the calculation of rates.

This information will be used as the basis for further discussion and refinement if necessary. Ad hoc requests usually involve a process of clarification before an analysis can be completed, which can take some time, submitting a request does not mean you will receive results immediately.

List of HES variables currently available for the Safe Haven dataset:
HES variable Description
ADMIDATE date patient admitted to hospital
ADMIMETH method of admission e.g. elective
ADMISORC where patient was immediately prior to admission e.g. home
ADMISTAT whether or not patient has had a previous psychiatric admission
BEDYEAR duration (in days) of hospital episode
CATEGORY admin and legal status of patient e.g. NHS not formally detained
CAUSE first external injury code that appears on patient’s record
CLASSPAT day case or ordinary admission
CURRWARD + RESLADST current electoral ward
DHATREAT \HA DHA where patient was treated
DIAG_1 to 7 primary, subsidiary and secondary diagnoses using ICD codes
DISDATE date of discharge at the end of the patient spell
DISDEST where patient was due to go immediately after discharge
DISMETH circumstances under which a patient left hospital e.g. died
DOB date of birth
ELECDATE date decision was made to arrange admittance of patient
ELECDUR difference in days between ‘ELECDATE’ and ‘ADMIDATE’
ENDAGE age of patient (in years) at the end of the finished episode
EPIDUR duration of a hospital episode (in days)
EPIEND date hospital episode ended e.g. discharged or transferred
EPIORDER period of care under a consultant. First episode is the admission
EPISTART start date of the episode of care
EPISTAT status of an episode i.e. finished or unfinished
EPITYPE type of episode e.g. general
ETHNOS ethnic group of patient
GPPRAC code of GP practice
GROSS_A grossing factors used to compensate for shortfalls in the data
HOMEADD postcode of patient’s home address
HRGLATE description of healthcare resource group
HRGORIG the value of a HRG initially calculated for an episode
INTMANIG intended management
LOPATID local patient identifier
MAINSPEF the specialty of the consultant responsible for the patient’s care
MARSTAT marital status of the patient
NEOCARE type of care for neonate
NEODUR Baby’s age in days
NEWNHSNO unique identifier for the patient
NUMACP number of augmented care periods within episodes
OPER_1 to 4 OPCS4 code indicating type of operation performed
OP_DATE_1 to 4 date of operation
PCGCODE primary care group
PROCODE code listing both the provider and purchaser of care
PURCODE purchaser of care e.g. GP fundholder
RECTYPE type of episode e.g. general, and whether or not episode is finished
RESDHA\HA DHA in which patient lived immediately before admission
RESGOR government office region
RESLADST local authority district
RESRHA\RO RHA in which patient lived immediately before admission
RHATREAT\RO RHA in which patient was treated
SEX sex of patient
SPELDUR duration of spell in hospital (in days)
STARTAGE age (in years) at admission
SUBSPEF\TRET the specialty of the second consultant in cases of shared care
VIND ICD v-code
WARD 91 Patient’s electoral ward in 1991
 
Please note that although the patient’s Primary Care Trust of Residence is not currently held on the Safe Haven HES dataset we are able to produce it as a derived variable calculated using the postcode of the patient’s home address. In the absence of appropriate look-up tables it is not, however, currently possible to produce information according to PCT of treatment.

Go to the Data Request Section

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