Northern Ireland is rapidly transforming health and social care (HSC) research through new data infrastructure, strategic partnerships and patient-driven innovation to improve public health and policy.
“We came from a low base,” said Mark Lawler, Professor of Digital Health at Queen’s University Belfast and Co-Lead of HDR UK’s Regional Network NI. “When I arrived in NI, accessing data involved physically working on a computer in a room with no online capability. But as part of HDR UK’s family, we were able to combine and expand expertise, working with colleagues and collaborators to transform Northern Ireland’s HSC digital landscape.”
A major step forward is the encompass programme, delivering a single electronic health record for every resident and adopted across all five hospital trusts – the first devolved nation to fully integrate health and social care records.
The NI Trusted Research Environment (NITRE) now enables secure access to anonymised data, with public engagement via the Northern Ireland Public Data Panel guiding responsible use.
Research is already shaping policy. Lawler’s team showed that treatment breaks for cetuximab could improve quality of life for bowel cancer patients and save the NHS £1.2 billion, prompting a regulatory change.
Momentum is building through projects such as Momentum-One-Zero, a £70 million AI and health data initiative and the £10 million cross-border ONEHEALTH Digital Innovation Hub.
“Our mythical giants gave us the causeway,” said Professor Lawler. “But today’s digital innovators are blazing new and groundbreaking trails across Northern Ireland and beyond.”
