Baroness Nicola Blackwood has been appointed as Chair of the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) a new service which aims to streamline NHS data access for approved researchers to develop new medicines and therapies.
The appointment was announced by Health Innovation Minister Zubir Ahmed during a speech at the Health Data User Conference in London. The Health Data Research Service (HDRS) will be backed by up to £600 million in funding from the Government and the Wellcome Trust, and will draw on the individual strengths of all four nations across the UK.
Baroness Blackwood (pictured above) is a recognised leader in life sciences and innovation. She is Chair of Oxford University Innovation and Genomics England and also serves on the boards of biotechnology company BioNTech and investment fund RTW Biotech Opportunities.
HDRS will transform how researchers and innovators access health and care data across the UK by slashing red tape and providing a secure single access point to national-scale datasets.
Currently, obtaining health data can be slow, complex and fragmented. The service will streamline these processes while upholding rigorous safeguards for data security, privacy and ethical oversight, enabling approved researchers to accelerate the discovery of new treatments that will improve patient care.
The appointment is a key component of the government’s Plan for Change, which is committed to building a future-ready NHS using data and technology to overcome challenges and improve healthcare for all.
Zubir Ahmed said: “As a practising surgeon, I know how important it is for patients to receive the latest treatment quickly and safely. I am delighted to announce Baroness Blackwood’s appointment, who will play an important role in helping us build an NHS fit for the future. By unlocking the power of NHS data safely and securely, we will accelerate lifesaving research that will deliver better treatments for patients faster. This is about harnessing the incredible potential of our health service’s data to drive medical breakthroughs, while maintaining gold-standard protections for patient privacy. Baroness Blackwood’s proven leadership in life sciences and innovation will be instrumental in making Britain the best place in the world for medical research.”
This appointment comes at a critical juncture as HDRS moves from planning to implementation. Significant progress is already being made as HDRS has been approved as a government company, with incorporation work now in progress, and recruitment is underway for a Chief Executive Officer.
It links directly to the government’s 10 Year Health Plan and forms part of its modern industrial strategy and Life Sciences Sector Plan, with life sciences identified as a key growth-driving sector that will create high-quality jobs and boost the economy.
Extensive stakeholder engagement has taken place between June and October 2025 with patients, health practitioners and researchers across the UK to shape the strategic ambition for HDRS.
This engagement revealed that users need data that is ‘research ready’, available through a single front door, with transparent and timely access.
Protecting patient privacy is paramount in the design and operation of HDRS. The service will use high security standards with multiple layers of protection - from minimising what researchers can access to using special encryption that makes data unreadable without specific keys. Researchers will only analyse data in controlled environments where every action is monitored, and the data does not need to leave secure systems. They will only have access to the specific data they need to answer their research question.
HDRS will use innovative techniques like creating ‘synthetic data’ that researchers can work with that mirrors real patterns but does not contain any individual patient information. Strict governance frameworks will ensure that only approved researchers with legitimate purposes can access data.
Baroness Blackwood, Chair of the Health Data Research Service, said: “I’m honoured to chair the Health Data Research Service at such a pivotal moment for health research in the UK. This service will deliver a triple return: better diagnostics and treatments for patients, greater efficiency for the NHS, and increased innovation and investment for the UK. By breaking down barriers to data access, we can unlock the extraordinary potential of NHS data to accelerate medical breakthroughs that will improve lives across all four nations.”
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have agreed in principle to the UK-wide ambition, and work will continue collaboratively to ensure HDRS brings benefits across all four nations. The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are jointly involved in HDRS, demonstrating how the service will support both health improvements and economic growth.