Data spine could form part of 2011 Census

Data in the 2011 census could come from patient records held on the National Programme for IT, according to a consultation document released by the Office for National Statistics.

"Detailed information on health conditions and treatments" from the data spine may be incorporated in the next 10-yearly census, the document suggests, providing the system is fully operational at the time.

The ONS is considering retrieving statistics about general health, carers, long-term illness and causes of disability, because it thinks the rising number of elderly people will result in a proportional rise in carers.

Part of the consulation, released by the ONS this week, aims to find out how the census can avoid duplicating the data already held on the NPfIT.

Types and causes of disability are currently considered ‘category 3’ information by the ONS, which means that they do not believe there is sufficient user demand for the information.

Health status and carer information, on the other hand, are ‘category 2’, which means they are being considered but only the highest priority types of data will end up being added to the questionnaire.

The National Statistics Code of Practice Protocol on Managing Respondent Load say that data will only be specifically collected from a census questionnaire if there is no other way of obtaining the information from government and public services.

The NPfIT will be a new source of information by 2011, says the consultation document, although there are issues with how information regarding health and disability can be squared with general demographic data.

According to the latest brochure from NHS Connecting for Health, part of the intention of the spine is to be used to store demographic information, as well as providing anonymised reports for public health information reasons.

For a copy of the consultation document and information on how to reply, visit the Office of National Statistics website.