The myths and legends of information sharing

Nathaniel Aust
Dissemination Coordinator
Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing

Earlier this year the Centre supported NHS Digital and NHS England to facilitate several workshops for Vanguard areas in England looking at different aspects of information sharing and information governance.

I attended a number of the sessions from the unique perspective of neither a delegate, nor a speaker, but as an observer – with the sole purpose to document the day by capturing the learning of the delegates and the motivational words of the presenters.

In reality, the first couple of hours of these sessions are blissfully lonely, spent setting up video equipment and microphones so they can be seamlessly activated when the speakers start. At the workshops, one of the sessions was presented by Dawn Monaghan, head of the data sharing and privacy unit at NHS Digital  – focusing on the common myths and legends in circulation which were hindering the transformation of health and social care.

I found the term myths and legends enticing, as for me it conjures up images of castles, unicorns and other mystical creatures from the pages of my children’s bedtime stories. On the day Dawn didn’t talk about any of these things but instead spoke of trying to understand the perceived barriers which get in the way of information sharing in Vanguard areas – which was really interesting. 

So interesting in fact, we’ve taken inspiration from Dawn for this week’s vlogs and blogs as we focus on the myths and legends that everyone at the Centre experiences in their day-to-day work around information sharing. There’s really only one place to start – so let’s take a look at an edited version of Dawn’s myths and legends: