No. The VIVID research team cannot see names, addresses, dates of birth, or NHS numbers. We only study de-identified data, which means personal details are removed. It is also against the law to try to identify anyone from this data.

Keeping your data safe is our top priority.
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We follow the Five Safes approach:

• Safe People: Only trained researchers at the University of Sheffield can access the data.
• ‍Safe Projects: Data is used only for approved research questions.
• ‍Safe Data: The research team only works on information that has personal details removed.
• ‍Safe Settings: Data is kept in a secure system that meets NHS and international safety standards.
• ‍Safe Outputs: Only grouped, anonymous results can leave the secure system.

We also follow strict UK laws and university rules to keep all data protected. You can read more about this on the Understanding Patient Data website.

The VIVID study will use some data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England. Both these organisations hold “confidential patient information”. That is data that combines information about patients' identities and their health.
They already collect this information for their public health work.

To help the VIVID study, NHS England will securely send data to UKHSA. UKHSA will then match records belonging to the same patient from across datasets. They will do this for all patients represented in the data. This transfer and matching are the only steps that involve confidential patient information.

After the records are matched, all personal details are removed. The VIVID research team only receives this de-identified data. UKHSA then deletes data it received for use in the study.

The research team will only have access to de-identified data, so we won’t know whose records we’re looking at. But NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency will process confidential patient information on our behalf.

We requested permission to use this information without asking each person directly.
This is because:
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• Some people in the data have died, and we need this information to study death as a possible outcome.
• We need a large number of people, to include those with rare conditions, to make the study accurate. There is no practical way to ask each person directly.

Using confidential patient information (CPI) requires special approval:

• The study team applies to the independent Confidentiality Advisory Group.
• This group then advises the NHS Health Research Authority.
• They make the final decision on whether to allow the research.

An independent NHS Research Ethics Committee gave the study ethical approval (reference 25/LO/0589).
Even with these approvals, UKHSA and NHS England decide whether to share data. All decisions balance the potential risks and public benefits of the research.
The University of Sheffield must follow UK data protection laws at all times.
You can find more details in our study privacy notice

You can choose not to have your NHS records included in this research.
To do this, please fill in the VIVID study opt-out form.
Once the data has been de-identified, it will no longer be possible to remove your records. This is because it will not be possible to connect a record to a person.
If you have already used the NHS National Data Opt-Out, your records will not be included in this study.

We would like your views on the VIVID study, especially about using patient data.

Please share your thoughts on:

• Whether this research addresses an important issue.
• Which groups of people we should study.
• Whether using anonymised NHS data without consent feels acceptable.
• Any other concerns or suggestions you have.

Your views will help shape how the study is designed and ensure it reflects public concerns.