NHS choices on Aurora

1

Hi
Has anybody used a direct feed of NHS data (on GP practices, pharmacies, dental practices, opticians, etc.) for their Aurora website?
We currently have to hold static copies of the datasets in our SQL server database and maintain this on a regular basis which becomes an administrative overhead. I am seeking ways to automate this by using NHS choices? Any ideas?.

2

Hello, Vinesh.

Do you have a link to this NHS feed? I’d like to try it out in Aurora, if you don’t mind. I’m happy to report the results once I’ve done so.

Regards,

Gordon

3

Hi Vinesh,

We are interested in using NHS data in Aurora at Staffordshire Moorlands and High Peak.

Please could you let me know the link to the direct feed of NHS data.

Regards
Martin Pigott
LLPG Custodian & GIS Officer

4

Hi Martin

I chased this query with the StatMap Support team and although they were able to provide a suggestion it was not the solution I was really hoping for. I wanted this to be an automated solution (using web services) so that we don’t have bother with managing the data ever again and can rely on the NHS choices web feed to handle that. I could not find a link to a direct feed to NHS data. What I did find was a URL that allows you to register to receive an API key and a guidance document:[http://www.nhs.uk/documentation]
I don’t know much about API’s which is why I threw this query on the StatMap forum to find out if others can help as I am certain that just about every local authority StatMap customer would benefit from an automated solution to NHS choices data.
Thanks.

Vin

5

Hi Vinesh,

Do you have access to FME? If you do, then it may be possible to use it to read the API and process the data, so it would be available in Aurora and Earthlight. I’ve done something similar using the Food Standards Agency Hygiene ratings data - http://ratings.food.gov.uk/open-data/en-GB

Greg

6

Using FME Server we have devised a process here at Barnsley which we run on a regular basis to query the NHS Choices API, this currently pulls the data for our area down into our SQL envionrment. We have similar processes for other API’s such as the police crime API, the Envionrment Agency / Natural England WFS services etc…

In the new year we are hoping to look into explosing these sort of services to other local authorities in an attempt to generate a little income possibliy as a web serivce, or as a self service ‘portal’. Would be interesting to know if this is something other authorities would be interested in using.

7

Hi Greg

Not sure if you received my email from Friday, but do you have a procedures document that explains how you went about doing this?

Thanks.

Vin

8

Hi Tom

Can you use “other” data sources (so the IPR not resting with Barnsley) to produce a web service to generate income? I would have thought this might be not allowed as it touches on commercial rights around the use of data…just a thought.

Regards.

Vin

9

If its truely open data you are able to use it for commercial purposes. We have yet to examine all the T&C’s for all the source of data we currently have automated processes for our internal use but where possible we see no reason not to make this more widely avlaible.

10

Interesting…thanks very much Tom.