1. HSCIC / ESR Data Quality and Data Standards Road Show
Leeds, June 19th 2013
Hill, Diggory and Bevan Rooms
Presented by
Ian Bullard / Nick Armitage / Kieron Walsh

2. HSCIC/ESR Data Quality and Data Standards Road Show
10:30 Coffee and Networking
Help yourselves to Tea, Coffee etc.
Toilets in the foyer through reception
No fire drill planned today – exit through reception or the opposite end of the corridor, assemble in the square.
Please try to keep questions for the ends of the sections – also post-it notes to collect questions / comments for discussion in the plenary or for discussion after the road show
Lunch and networking around 12:30 for half an hour – sandwiches and drinks provided
Due to finish by 15:00

3. HSCIC/ESR Data Quality and Data Standards Road Show: Agenda
10:30 Coffee and Networking
11:00 Welcome, Introduction - the importance of data quality, objectives of the day (Nick Armitage);
11:15 Update on the on-going development of ESR (Kieron Walsh);
11:30 Data quality tools:
WOVEN (Nick Armitage);
ESR Business Intelligence Data Quality Dashboard (James Haddon);
Occupation Code and Job Role Verifier (Stuart Jones);
wrap-up / questions
12:30 Lunch and Networking
13:00 Changes to the workforce classifications for Healthcare Scientists and how it will be handled in the NWD and ESR (Richard Billings);
13:30 Updates on the provision of Informatics Staff information (Patrick Dodge);
14:00 Introduction to the workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS) and what it means for you (Ian Bullard);
14:15 Other developments in Workforce information (Kieron Walsh/Ian Bullard):
14:45 Plenary, questions and answers – next steps (Ian Bullard/All)
15:00 Finish

4. This is the first event and we welcome your feedback!
11:00 Welcome, Introduction - the importance of data quality, objectives of the day (Nick Armitage);
Data quality is all about collaborative working with a shared purpose – hence getting you all here today.
Any efforts should have mutual benefits and should provide a platform for discourse between all involved.
The purpose is to improve the data that is used to inform decisions about the workforce at local, regional and national level.
Good data quality can’t guarantee good decisions are made, but poor data quality will definitely increase the likelihood of poor decisions and poor outcomes.
This is the first event and we welcome your feedback!

5. HSCIC corporate data quality role
Mandated:
To assess the quality of data collected against published standards
To publish the results of the assessments
Allowed:
To provide advice and guidance on data quality to health and social care organisations
Added value:
Supports statistical code of practice requirements, e.g. statements of administrative sources, data quality statements
Supports improvement in quality of data submitted and therefore its usefulness for primary and secondary purposes

6. Effective delivery of the HSCIC DQ role
Influenced by:
Subject matter expertise
Consistent processes
Standards based data quality rules
Consistent use of corporate reference data
Consistent outputs

7. The Objectives today are therefore to:
Objectives of the day
The Objectives today are therefore to:
provide a platform to encourage collaborative working;
to highlight the tools and guidance available;
to communicate important developments;
to promote the importance of data quality; and
to learn from your experiences and expertise

8. 11:15 Update on the on-going development of ESR
Over to Kieron’s slides on the on-going development of ESR…

9. WOVEN (Nick Armitage);
11:30 Data quality tools
Data quality tools:
WOVEN (Nick Armitage);
ESR Business Intelligence Data Quality Dashboard (James Haddon);
Occupation Code and Job Role Verifier (Stuart Jones);
Wrap-up / Questions

10. WOVEN Background
The Workforce Validation Engine (WOVEN) reports are now a familiar feature of the NHS workforce landscape.
Still many organisations not choosing to open / action their reports despite attempts to increase participation.
Used regionally as part of workforce DQ efforts – e.g. North West, Yorks and Humber, East Mids
Highlights data inconsistencies and provides detail for correction directly in ESR
Reduced the need for burdensome DQ efforts associated with the HSCIC data collections and improves the utility of the data at a local and regional level
Ability to override genuine inconsistencies and focus on issues
A number of organisations have been in touch stating that their boards want to see their scores and rankings for WOVEN going as far back as possible showing that there is a growing interest in this work.
The desire to keep the reports up to date, useful and user friendly – has highlighted a series of enhancements

11. WOVEN Enhancements
HSCIC team working with IT colleagues to take forward a list of enhancements
ESR Central Team are providing updated extracts to allow these enhancements to be developed and tested
Still finalising mapping of LETBs/HEE Regions to local organisations to be used in summary reporting, working with ESR Central Team / HEE on this – summary by SHA until this is resolved and included in enhancements
Aim to go live with the enhancements as soon as possible in 2013 – will be necessary to parallel run and to thoroughly test to avoid any unforeseen issues
Enhancements agreed with the ESR HR and recruitment SIG:
Improved GMC registration check (period of grace)
Assignment Status of Maternity / Career break to be used to automatically remove relevant records from certain tests
Reduced spurious records in ex-employee extract (e.g. Bank Staff not fulfilled minimum work requirement) and constrain in a fashion similar to employee / assignment extract
‘STAFF_GROUP’ to be added to the reports to enable organisations to filter their records to share with the relevant teams – e.g. Medical staffing
Additional enhancement also to be applied:
Adding VPD code to the string of information on each individual error to enable organisations running multiple VPDs to better handle their errors.
Suggestion that registration status for S9R is altered to ‘may have GDC’ registration due to up-skilling of Dental Nurses meaning that they now should be accurately coded as S4R, with relevant guidance updates - to be confirmed

12. WOVEN hints and tips
The key is to ensure that practices and processes are in place to capture and input the data in an accurate and timely fashion
Share best practice across teams – HR and Finance etc.
Make use of guidance materials and tools available
In future acting on your ESRBI DQ reports may help to improve WOVEN scores
ESR Self Service / Manager Self Service could help?
Some means by which people can maximise the impact of their efforts:
How to best handle large numbers of errors – ESR mass update facility?
Deal with inconstancies against the lowest record count first to have the biggest impact on your overall score
Quick-wins e.g. equality if you have asked the questions and staff have not responded after a sensible length of time, then it is appropriate to complete the field as ‘not stated’.

13. WOVEN The Future
Focus on Items of national importance in WOVEN – for strategic / workforce planning purposes
In future HCS implementation and the development of the workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS) are likely to influence further WOVEN developments including:
Providing a means of testing use of new occupation codes / JR and AoW values and their combinations for the correct identification of HCS roles
Informatics Area of Work checking (to avoid use of catch-all ‘Informatics’ value rather than detailed values)
Considering fields or combinations of fields which have not been heavily validated previously but which are essential for the wMDS
In future WOVEN more easily configurable by HSCIC workforce team – more targeted DQ, testing implementation of data standards updates
New ESR Business Intelligence DQ reports likely to lead to refocusing of WOVEN DQ reports away from ‘validity’ and towards ‘accuracy’
Potential to add flag to reports showing which inconsistencies have remained outstanding for the most time to help focus update process

14. Data quality tools continued
See separate slides for:
ESR Business Intelligence Data Quality Dashboard (James Haddon);
Occupation Code and Job Role Verifier (Stuart Jones);

15. Data quality tools
Wrap-up / Questions

16. 12:30 Lunch
Enjoy your lunch and the chance to chat to friends and colleagues.
Please jot down any thoughts / questions you have on the post-it notes and stick them to the flip charts around the room
We’ll aim to pick them up in the Plenary at the end or take them away to provide feedback following today’s session

17. Over to Richard’s slides…
13:00 Changes to the workforce classifications for Healthcare Scientists and how it will be handled in the NWD and ESR;
Over to Richard’s slides…
Guidance documents to be published here shortly

18. 13:00 Changes to the workforce classifications for Healthcare Scientists and how it will be handled in the NWD and ESR;
NWD version 2.6 and NHS Occupation Code Manual version 12 were approved by ISB during April following a clarification on issues raised at their March Board – ISN published towards the end of May – mostly focussing on HCS changes
This uplift is the first to see both the NWD and the NHS Occupation Code Manual combined into one overarching standard to be handled together in future by ISB
Current plan to publish updated NWD Specification and Occ Code Manual V12 during July 2013, along with first tranche of guidance documentation – more to follow in the coming months
Values expected to be implemented in ESR release 21 in late December 2013 – plenty of time before to begin preparing the information on the existing HCS workforce for these updates
Following the updates the old ‘T’ Occupation Codes and Job Roles will no longer be available – switch to new ‘U’ Occ Codes, new Job Roles and updated AoW values.
Planned enhancements to ESR interface will pave the way for the mass-update facility for updating existing records once checked and confirmed by individual organisations. Detail on the precise information required and the template to use will be shared shortly.
Significant communications plan being developed, targeted at different levels and through different mechanisms – plans to get senior buy-in and provide sufficient detail to ensure that the changes are interpreted consistently

19. Changes to the workforce classifications for Healthcare Scientists and how it will be handled in the NWD and ESR;
Add screen shots of U Matrix, AoW suggestions and list of Job Role values for HCS

21. Changes to the workforce classifications for Healthcare Scientists and how it will be handled in the NWD and ESR;
The changed HCS values for Staff Group / Job Role include deletions, additions and one value which has not changed:
Healthcare Scientists
Clinical Scientist
Consultant Healthcare Scientist
Biomedical Scientist (inc Advanced Practitioner Biomedical Scientific Officer)
Technician
Therapist
Manager
Specialist Healthcare Scientist
Healthcare Scientist
Specialist Healthcare Science Practitioner
Healthcare Science Practitioner
Additional Clinical Services
Healthcare Science Associate
Healthcare Science Assistant
Trainee Healthcare Scientist
Trainee Healthcare Science Practitioner
Trainee Healthcare Science Associate
All values need to be considered even for Consultant Healthcare Scientists to ensure that the data held is correct and that previous issues are not replicated in the data going forward
Guidance materials to include HCS focused version of Job Role and AoW guide, Indicative Job Title to coding guide and extensive notes in occ code manual

22. Healthcare Scientist changes – Mass Update facility
Current facility updates Job Role – enhanced to enable changes to Occ Code and Area of Work Process: Trust raises SR ESR Interface Team supplies template Trust returns completed details Changes are applied to Positions User Notice to follow
Trusts may need to split those currently in one Position into two or more Positions where new values introduce differences.
Can choose to proceed manually rather than use the Mass Update facility – no problem.
User Notice will follow nearer the time – expect to release around September ahead of the changes to values in December ‘13.

23. Wrap-up / questions (Richard Billings)
Changes to the workforce classifications for Healthcare Scientists and how it will be handled in the NWD and ESR;
Wrap-up / questions (Richard Billings)

24. 13:30 Updates on the provision of Informatics Staff information;
Over to Patrick’s slides…
Guidance document – with indicative job titles on our website, updated regularly following feedback – new version with minor updates (v2.1) due to be published shortly

25. 14:00 Introduction to the workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS) and what it means for you (Ian Bullard);
Workforce Information Architecture recommendations published on DH website here
Updated guidance documentation on the wMDS recently published on the HSCIC website here
Detailed implementation plan is still under development and further communications are planned soon
Implementation currently focusing on:
Further piloting / testing throughout the summer
Development of more detailed guidance documentation
Primary care / Independent sector development of proposed values
Specific mechanism for collection to be decided (proof of concept under development)
Relationship with annual census’ and internal processes / publications related to this
Data quality likely to be a focus – for ESR and beyond
Increasing the scope of the Workforce Information Review Group (WIRG) to cover more sectors – Primary Care, Social Care, ISHPs etc.
A new Workforce Information Strategy Group will be set up to help WIRG with prioritisation and strategic alignment, as well as ensuring there is policy sponsorship and funding feasibility for any new/major proposed development.

26. Add screen shot of wMDS web page

27. 14:00 Introduction to the workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS) and what it means for you (Ian Bullard);
Already the development of the wMDS is highlighting lots of issues to feedback into the data standards and guidance – for example updating the definitional information within the NWD
Shining a light on the elements of the data standards which have not been focused upon at a national level previously – likely to link to future DQ push as issues are discovered
WOVEN tests likely to be refined to meet the needs of wMDS extract from ESR – also ESR BI data quality reporting
Implementation of wMDS also likely to lead to lots of requests for new values to ensure the NWD is fit for the new areas it is to cover – e.g. Primary Care, Independent Sector
How to handle DQ initiatives outside of ESR – element of wMDS collection vehicle, other focused tests?
Other sectors also need workforce information – a Public Health Minimum Data Set on the horizon, a subset of the wMDS and beyond?

28. Other Workforce Issues
Impact of Transition: - NHS restructure (new org’s) - Reporting via Data Warehouse/iView - Ensure to flag ALL those to move - Don’t pre-hire after the org closure date
Assignment set and/or hierarchy to indicate those moving.
Example of a new starter several weeks after the org closed! VPD’s need to stay open for some time for close down activities.

29. 14:15 Other developments in Workforce information (Kieron Walsh/Ian Bullard):
The impact of the restructuring is having on our publications, is under review and will be announced in the June publication next week. I would state though that additional information would remain in iView.
Impact of NDPBs
Impact of new organisational hierarchies
Equalities data – plan to begin to gather opinions on the to allow the NWD and ESR to be updated based on equalities legislation in lieu of detailed central guidance

30. Other developments in Workforce information continued
New enhanced NHS Jobs system still on course to go live in 2013, more information available here
We continue to work with the suppliers to improve the reporting information available in NHS Jobs, including:
A compressed ‘occupation code’ field based on combinations of occupation codes to simplify the list but allow linking to SIP information from ESR;
Utilise DD / NWD for equalities data etc.
Develop NHS Jobs ‘data warehouse’ for reporting processes
standard and ad-hoc reports
Compressed list of occ codes will also form part of the wMDS for some sectors – e.g. Primary Care, ISHPs

31. Other developments in Workforce information continued
Targeted DQ reporting during summer months prior to September Census
See list of bullet points on types of tests on following slide
Benefits – targeted approach of specific issues results in a good response from Trusts.
Directly impacts on the data quality feeding the Census publication.

32. Other developments in Workforce information continued
Asg type of contract is blank or is bank/locum but with contracted hours
Non-Med occ code with a medical staff group
Med occ codes with an unknown grade code and a non-med job role
Med payscales with a med occ code with non-med job role
Med grades without a med occ code
Total FTE more than 1.28 for an individual
Duplicates with differing information – tricky as typically one person working across 2 Trusts

33. 14:45 Plenary, questions and answers – next steps (Ian Bullard/All)
Including those captured on post-it notes over the course of the day
Did we meet the objectives of the day?
Next Steps;
Slides to be made available on HSCIC website
Additional sessions in London, Taunton and Birmingham in the autumn - possibly Leeds in the new-year?
Thank you for your interest and your involvement!

34. Useful Links / Resources
WOVEN Guidance / Override request form
NHS Occupation Code Manual and sub-specialty annex
NWD Specification
NWD Guidance documents, including Job Role & Area of Work guidance, Informatics Guidance and in future Healthcare Science Guidance
DH WIA Report
HSCIC wMDS Guidance
The HSCIC Corporate DQ role and 1st Annual report
The Health Education England (HEE) Mandate
DH Priorities from their corporate plan