In the NHS, effective data analysis drives quality, safety, and efficiency (Goldacre, 2022). Research shows that Trusts with active research programs experience better patient outcomes and staff retention. However, many Trusts struggle to achieve these benefits due to limited time, skills, and resources (RCP, 2022). The Care Quality Commission also highlights the importance of integrating research into clinical practice for improving patient care (CQC, 2019).
Addressing data challenges
While clinical data has the potential to drive care improvements, it must be curated, analysed, and interpreted to generate actionable insights (Goldacre, 2022). Clinical academics play a vital role in bridging the gap between research and practice. Yet, with a declining number of clinical academics and a workforce with limited research training, achieving this level of data use has become increasingly challenging (Darzi, 2024).
Clinicians also face significant barriers to conducting high-quality research due to fragmented, outdated, or inaccessible data systems. Spreadsheets and disconnected databases reduce the data quality, impede collaboration, compromise patient confidentiality, and limit knowledge sharing.
Bringing research to care
Ledidi addresses the usability needs with a platform that is intuitive, accessible and versatile for clinicians who are not data experts. Rather than placing the burden on clinicians to master complex database and analytics tools, Ledidi Core simplifies the study setup, data entry, and analysis, making it easier to conduct clinical audits and research.
Ledidi Core aligns with the idea that user-friendly tools lower the bar to effective data use. This facilitates integration of research to clinical care and to mobilise a new generation of clinical academics to bridge research and clinical practice.
Partnership with LTHT
Ledidi and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) have entered into partnership to conduct a Clinical Service Evaluation of Ledidi Core. Through this partnership, LTHT will pilot Ledidi Core with several real-world data projects in order to assess the impact on both clinical audits and patient outcomes.
A key example from this partnership is the work of Dr John Goodden, a consultant neurosurgeon performing Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery on children with cerebral palsy. Previously, Dr Goodden meticulously documented each surgery in a spreadsheet — a dataset crucial to securing NHS funding for the procedure. Now, with the data migrated to Ledidi Core, Dr Goodden and his multidisciplinary team can conduct more comprehensive analyses in real-time, enhancing their understanding of both short and long-term patient outcomes.
“Moving from spreadsheets to a robust database has been transformative,” says Dr. Goodden, who notes the team’s newfound ability to unlock outcome trends and predictive insights.
“I can genuinely say that I’ve never been so excited by data before! Seeing our data being explored and analysed through Ledidi Core has left me beaming with excitement as we consider how we can apply new lessons to our understanding about SDR surgery”.
Collaboration across Trusts
Ledidi Core facilitates multidisciplinary collaboration, enabling clinicians to access shared data and learn from each other’s findings. For instance, using data to benchmark clinical outcomes across Trusts allows teams to identify excellence and share best practices across regions to improve quality of care (Goldacre, 2022). By comparing outcomes and service activities, Trusts can identify areas for improvement and disseminate best practices more widely.
The Royal College of Physicians highlights that the “research effect” extends to reducing regional disparities in outcomes, especially when Trusts adopt practical studies and foster inter-Trust relationships. This is particularly valuable for smaller and rural Trusts, which can participate in research alongside larger centres and benefit equally from collaborative insights.
Moving towards data-driven care
In partnership with LTHT, Ledidi aims to empower and inspire clinicians to conduct more research and integrate data-driven insights into clinical practice. By making research accessible and collaborative through a practical and accessible tool, Ledidi Core aims to support the NHS on its journey to provide clinical excellence to patients through data and collaboration.
References:
- Arasaradnam R, Clarke S, Van’t Hoff W, Chappell L. (2024). Making research everybody’s business: a position statement of the Royal College of Physicians and the National Institute of Health and Care Research.
- Darzi, A. (2024). Lord Darzi: Independent investigation of the National Health Service in England. GOV.UK.
- Goldacre, B. (2022). Better, broader, safer: Using health data for research and analysis. GOV.UK.
- Royal College of Physicians. (2022). Benefiting from the research effect: The case for Trusts supporting clinicians to become more research active and innovative.
- Landsverk, A. (2024). From Surgery to First Steps: Dr Goodden’s Story.
- National Institute of Health and Care Research. (2019).CQC inspections to give more exposure to clinical research taking place in NHS Trusts.