Asthma pathfinder project highly commended nationally

Congratulations to the asthma pathfinder team which was highly commended in the Data-Driven Transformation Award at the 2023 HSJ Awards this month (November).

The London Asthma Decision Support tool (LADS) is a collaboration between North West London Integrated Care System (ICS), South East London ICS, Imperial College Health Partners, Imperial College London, and Vizify.

The tool brings together air pollution, demographic and social deprivation data with routinely collected NHS data for the first time so clinical teams can intervene earlier in the patient pathway and improve outcomes, but also focus on identifying and investigating areas of health inequity across the capital.

It was one of four pathfinder projects which received around £250,000 to look at what could be achieved if data was combined across more than one health system in London, with the money contributed from acute trusts and universities across London and NHS England. The others focused on high blood pressure, cancer and childhood immunisations. Information about all the pathfinder projects can be found in our Annual Report for Citizens.

James Friend, Director of Digital Strategy at NHS England London region and lead for Data Driven Health Improvement Projects, said: “The pathfinder projects were incredibly ambitious, seeking to deliver measurable improvements in health, alongside developing the systems and trusted health data environments needed to link data safely and securely for service planning, improvement, and research.

“It’s fantastic to see the LADS tool recognised nationally and I extend both my congratulations and a huge thank you to everyone involved in the project.”

More information on the LADS too can be found here.