The Royal Statistical SocietyThe Royal Statistical Society
Health Statistics User Group

Our aims
We aim to represent all users of health and health services statistics, and believe that one of the strengths of the Group is that it provides a regular forum where all users can meet and exchange ideas, across disciplinary or organisational boundaries

Our activities are aimed at:

  • maintaining and improving data quality
  • data access, and
  • use of health and health services statistics. 

Background and organisation
The Group was set up several years ago, following initiatives by the Statistics User Council (which has since been replaced by the Statistics Users Forum), the Society for Social Medicine, and the Royal Statistical Society. Although it continues to liaise with these organisations when appropriate, and is a member of the Statistics Users Forum, it is an independent separate entity and does not receive any financial support from them. It is however affiliated, through the Statistics Users' Forum, to the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), and the administration of membership records is undertaken by the RSS, operating as an agent for the Health Statistics User Group.

 
The Group is run by a Committee, with the members of the Committee, in most cases, representing a particular group of health statistics providers or users. The officers are elected at the Annual General Meeting which is usually held at the March or April evening meeting of the Group. Members are also welcome to nominate other committee members, particularly if they feel that a specific area of health statistics provision has not been well covered in previous years.

HSUG objectives
The objectives of HSUG are as follow:

  1. To foster appropriate use of statistics to improve public health and effectiveness, quality and availability of healthcare in the UK.
  2. To encourage effective and useful collaboration between the Government Statistical Service and other producers and users of statistics in the health and health services field.
  3. To encourage the maintenance and improvement in timeliness, accuracy, utility, relevance, accessibility and completeness of this health information.
  4. To develop public confidence in the production and use of health statistics.
  5. To encourage good statistical practice by efficient and appropriate utilisation of health statistics.
  6. To educate and train users of health statistics.

HSUG activities

We try to meet our aims in several ways:

Representing the view of health statistics users 
We represent the views of health statistics users in national discussions or consultations relevant to health and health services statistics. We conslut directly or through the Statistics Users Forum or the Royal Statistical Society.We also try to maintain awareness of current issues and to be proactive where we feel that the views of the Group need to made known.
 
Disseminating information via HSUG events
We disseminate the results of these discussions and other health information developments, via seminars, conferences, and evening meetings or via the HSUG website and mail group (see below). The meetings and conferences held by HSUG are also a way of stimulating debate and obtaining feedback on current issues. We charge for seminars and conferences, in order to cover the running costs, but evening meetings are usually free of charge and open to all. 
 
Although the HSUG is a UK wide group, the meetings are usually held in London. However we have also held meetings in Scotland and in the North West of England, via our informal links to groups based there, and we welcome opportunities for improving access to our meetings and other activities
 

Contact us

 
If you have any queries about the work of HSUG or suggestions please email:
info@hsug.org.uk

Join us

    Membership entitles you to: