Emergency care data set

What is the Emergency Care Data Set?

The Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS) was first introduced in 2017 and is now embedded as the national data set for urgent and emergency care.

The ECDS includes a wide variety of data items, from patient demographics and chief complaint to diagnosis and discharge. Capturing this information builds an accurate picture of the demands faced by Emergency Departments (EDs) and of patient care.

ECDS provides information to support and optimise the care provided in EDs. It shows us a picture of patient needs, and capacity and demand in EDs throughout England. This enables us to make evidence based and informed decisions to improve patient care, experience, and outcomes.

The vision for the ECDS is for it to become the single source of ‘true data’ for ED activity in England.

What about ECDS in an SDEC setting?

Accurately recording SDEC activity via a consistent data set is an important part of improving urgent and emergency care (UEC) services. ECDS will provide this consistency.

Information about SDEC services and uptake, will be collated to provide an understanding of how and why people use the service. Having access to this data means we can improve planning and reduce pressure on the system, ultimately leading to better patient experience and outcomes.

As part of the national SDEC model, the ECDS will be expanded to include SDEC services, and will enable a more comprehensive view of patient flow across the UEC system.

ECDS Forum (FutureNHS Collaboration Platform)

We have developed a collaborative space on the FutureNHS platform, where colleagues can:

  • Discuss national, regional, and local topics
  • Find ECDS information, guides, and help
  • See what support is available with submission and data quality
  • Use discussion forums to ask questions and share knowledge
  • See what the future of ECDS looks like
  • Contact the national ECDS team

The FutureNHS Collaboration Platform (ECDS Forum) online workspace is a collaborative platform designed for teams and providers to share best practice, access information and guidance, and raise questions to the national ECDS team. You can register to join the FutureNHS Collaboration Platform workspace here.

For ECDS related queries please email nhsi.ecds@nhs.net.