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What is the TVS TRE?

The Thames Valley and Surrey Trusted Research Environment (TVS TRE) is a platform that gives approved users secure access to patient data for research purposes — without that data ever leaving the secure environment.

The TVS TRE is one component of the wider Thames Valley and Surrey Secure Data Environment (TVS SDE). For more information on the TVS SDE as a whole, visit thamesvalleyandsurreyhealthandcaredata.nhs.uk.

The problem it solves

Patient data is extremely valuable for research. Understanding how diseases progress, how treatments work across different populations, and how services can be improved all depend on access to real patient records. But this data is also highly sensitive — it contains personal health information that must be protected.

Traditionally, sharing data for research meant extracting records, transferring files, and trusting that users would handle them securely. This created risk at every step.

The TVS TRE takes a different approach: instead of moving data to users, it brings users to the data.

How it works

Rather than sending you a copy of the data, the TVS TRE gives you access to a secure computing environment where the data already lives. You work inside that environment — running your analyses, writing your code, building your models — and your results are reviewed before they can leave.

Think of it like working in a secure reading room in a library. You can access the books, take notes, and produce summaries — but the books themselves stay in the building.

In practice this means:

  • You are given access to a virtual machine (VM) — a computer that runs in the cloud, which you connect to through your browser
  • The data you have been approved to access is available inside that VM
  • You can use standard research tools (R, Python, Jupyter Notebooks, RStudio, VS Code) just as you would on your own computer
  • When you want to take results out — a table, a chart, a summary statistic — you submit an egress request, which is reviewed before it is released
  • Patient-level data never leaves the environment

What you can and cannot do

You can:

  • Access the datasets approved for your specific project
  • Run analyses using R, Python, Jupyter Notebooks, and other pre-installed tools
  • Install additional packages via the built-in package proxy or via the airlock
  • Bring in your own code, models, and non-sensitive files via the airlock
  • Export aggregate results and statistical outputs via the egress review process

You cannot:

  • Access data that has not been approved for your project
  • Connect directly to the internet from within your VM
  • Copy patient-level data out of the environment
  • Share your login credentials or VM access with anyone else
  • Export row-level data in any format

Your responsibilities

As an approved user, you are responsible for using the platform in accordance with your approved project protocol. When you are onboarded you will be asked to sign Terms of Use confirming your understanding of and commitment to these responsibilities. This includes:

  • Keeping your login credentials secure
  • Stopping or deleting VMs when not in use
  • Providing clear justification for all airlock requests
  • Ensuring that any outputs you request for egress comply with disclosure control requirements

Governance

Access to the TVS TRE is governed by the Five Safes framework, a widely used approach to ensuring that sensitive data is used safely and appropriately. See the Five Safes page for more detail.

Getting started