Introduction to Community Services Data Set

CSDS defines the data items, definitions and associated value sets extracted or derived from local information systems and sent to NHS Digital for analysis purposes. CSDS sets out national definitions for the extraction of data about children and adults. These activities could take place in settings such as health centres, Sure Start centres, day care facilities, schools or community centres, mobile facilities, or a patient's own home.

You are in-scope to submit CSDS data if you are publicly funded and providing community services in England. Providers could be from:

• foundation or non-foundation trusts
• acute trusts
• mental health trusts
• community healthcare trusts
• care trusts
• social enterprises
• integrated care organisations
• any qualified providers
• independent sector providers (including third sector)
• local authorities

We require you to send patient-level data; this is not a data collection of aggregates. We require a record for each patient, a record for each referral, a record for each appointment, and so on.

There are two ways of packaging your data for submission.

1. As an Access database file - we refer to this as the Intermediate Database or IDB.
2. As an XML file (Extensible Markup Language).

Over 80% of providers choose to use an Access database file.

Once whichever of these files is prepared, it is passed to NHS Digital by use of an online service called the Strategic Data Collection Service (SDCS) Cloud. The SDCS Cloud is a secure data collection system used by health and social care organisations to submit data to NHS Digital. It uses 2 factor authentications to enforce security.

Data submissions for CSDS are based upon fixed monthly reporting periods. Each reporting period allows for an initial Primary (P) submission and a final Refresh (R) submission.

NHS Digital will use the 'last good' file that has passed validation by the submission deadline for national reporting purposes.

See the opening and closing of the submission window, and the reporting periods that can be submitted in these windows.

This guide is intended to assist in progressing through the submission process; to break the process into chapters, to provide additional descriptions and screenshots, and to additionally identify pages and documents that are available for the specific task.

Find out more information on the submission process.

Our national service desk can also assist in answering questions and help with any issues. Call 0300 3035 035 or email [email protected].