A health service trust serving over a million people in the north west hopes to support a nationwide data sharing framework after launching a pilot intended to improve patient outcomes

A major NHS trust serving more than a million people in and around Liverpool has revealed plans for a “unique project” in which social housing data will be integrated with healthcare records.

The initiative, being undertaken by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, will allow health-service staff to access information such as “living conditions, accessibility and locality”. The aim is to provide greater understanding of individuals’ care needs and how housing factors might contribute to “health outcomes”, the trust said.

Data will be supplied by housing association Prima Group and funding for the project is provided by social enterprise Fusion21.

Prima owns and manages about 2,700 properties in Liverpool and the surrounding area. Chief executive John Ghader said that he hoped the pilot project involving his organisation could help support the development of a much broader data-sharing programme between the NHS and housing associations across the country.

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“Housing associations have a key role in reaching groups facing some of the biggest health inequalities and providing preventative support services to people in their homes,” he said. “When we get this right, we see tenants maximise their independence and reduce demand on the health service. This exciting collaboration will help us do more of this, pre-empting when customers need changes made to their home and ensuring resources are targeted where they make the most impact, prioritising property interventions around preventative health management.”

The parties involved in the programme said that all data will be anonymised and will only be shared subject to “the highest standards of confidentiality and data protection”.

Wes Baker, director of strategic analytics, economics and population health management at Mersey Care, said: “In this groundbreaking project, we’re not just sharing data; we’re weaving together the fabric of our community’s health and wellbeing. By integrating housing data with health records, we’re unlocking unparalleled insights into how our living environments influence health outcomes.”

The Mersey Care trust employs 11,000 staff and serves 1.4 million people across Merseyside, as well as parts of Lancashire and Cheshire.

Its website claims that the organisation “is one of the most innovative and progressive NHS trusts in the country”.

Last year, Mersey Care received £10.5m of government funding to support the creation of the UK’s first Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC).

“M-RIC will create a world first ‘learning system’ where treatments improve the more they are used, studied and refined,” the trust’s website says. “The focus will be on under-researched areas such as early intervention in psychosis, depression, and children and young people’s metal health. Research will underpin Liverpool City Region’s commitment to service users, providing easy access to clinical trials and increasing their involvement in better care, closer to home.”