Following the initial introductions, Kerrie delved deeper into the policy mandate for secure data environments. She emphasised the importance of cloud-based secure data platforms and the role of public trust in leveraging NHS data for AI and machine learning.

Kerrie provided an overview of the Thames Valley SDE, which is one of 7 UK regional data environments. This SDE is part of a national network funded by NHS England and provides access to 57 million records, focusing on multimodal data designed to enhance patient privacy and public trust. The SDE allows researchers to analyse data within secure platforms without exporting raw data, ensuring that only summary data and results are shared to maintain data confidentiality.

Kerrie also discussed the governance and operational aspects of the SDE, including the airlock process for data access and the importance of patient and public engagement. She noted that the biggest challenges in interoperability often lie in getting the people, processes, and governance right, rather than the technology itself.

George Marlow then provided a high-level overview of the technical framework supporting the SDE. He explained the use of Azure Data Factory and Databricks for data orchestration, and the Medallion architecture for data standardization. George also discussed the importance of metadata orchestration and the role of trusted research environments in providing researchers with secure access to data