Atlas of Health Variation 

The atlases of health variation help to identify unwarranted variation in healthcare, health outcomes and risk factors through the analysis of routine datasets.

The atlases apply a whole population approach to inform the planning, commissioning, and provision of services by 

  • using national datasets to present population rates giving local areas comparable measures to support service planning and development 
  • highlighting local and regional variations and trends
  • providing practical actions that could make differences to patients and to inform commissioning and service provision

Published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), the first Atlas of Variation was produced in 2010 by the NHS as a collaboration with many partners. OHID conitnues to work closely with NHS England and partners, such as National Clinical Directors, Royal Colleges, clinical professional groups, and third sector organisations.

A defining aspect of the atlases is that each of the indicator's maps, charts, and box-and-whisker plots are accompanied by text which provides:

  • the context of the indicator
  • a description of the reasons behind the variation and trends in the data
  • options for action to be taken by different parts of the system
  • a list of evidence-based resources to support action 

Each atlas is produced as a fully accessible document with accompanying data files and metadata. An interactive atlas is produced to enable organisations to interrogate the data at a local level.

For atlases published before 2021 the interactive atlases can be accessed via the NHS England website.

The atlases

You can access the following atlases:

Contact us

For enquiries or feedback relating to the atlases, email healthcare.variation@dhsc.gov.uk.