Join our live online career challenges to find out how the NHS uses data to improve patient outcomes, and gain virtual work experience.

Explore this page to select the right challenge for you and hear more from the NHS team.

The NHS, or National Health Service, is the UK’s publicly funded healthcare system, covering everything from routine checkups to emergency care for over 55 million people in England. As one of the largest employers in the world, the NHS has about 1.34 million full-time equivalent staff in England. Every interaction a patient has—whether a GP appointment, an A&E visit, or an outpatient referral—generates important data. For instance, in 2023/24, there were around 353 million GP appointments and 16.5 million A&E visits and 4.7 million emergency admissions to hospital, showing the huge demand for NHS services.

This data is not just stored; it’s actively used to improve patient care and make the NHS more efficient. Data analysts, engineers, and scientists work behind the scenes to turn this information into insights that help doctors make better decisions, plan resources, and ultimately save lives. As NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard says,
“A good analyst can save more lives than a good anaesthetist”—underscoring just how powerful data is in healthcare.

Join us in our online career challenges to find out how we use data to solve problems every day.

What’s involved?

Students work on the challenge
in their own time

Recorded industry
assessment

Certification of virtual
work experience

FIRST STEP CAREER CHALLENGE:

YEAR GROUPS 7-9, YEAR GROUPS 8-10 (Northern Ireland) & YEAR GROUPS S1-S3 (Scotland)

“Quick with the facts, help the NHS be swift to react!”

Tuesday 14th January at 4.30pm

Paige and a group of her school friends have been playing football after school to practice for an important game they have next week. It has been raining for the last 3 days and the grass is a bit soggy, but they decided to practice anyway. They are 30 minutes into practice when Matthew slips when tackling Emma for the ball and lands awkwardly. He is in pain and unable to stand back up and put any weight on his ankle. All his friends are concerned and know they need to phone an ambulance. What are the key points of information that the ambulance services need to ensure that Matthew gets the correct care and attention?

Where they are? How many people are hurt? Are they breathing? Are they unconscious?

Your Mission: Become an NHS Fact Finder

We would like you to be an NHS fact finder responsible for gathering all the important details (data points) related to Matthew’s accident. Your job is to collect this information to provide a story that can help the NHS provide the best possible care for Matthew.

Building the Story – what information could be Key Data Points

To create a clear story from Matthew’s accident, we will give you a series of questions to help you start your fact-finding journey and then we would like you to think of more questions that could help the NHS form data points to ensure Matthew receives the correct care.

What this career challenge will involve

Join the live session: Meet the NHS team.
Information: Use the questions we provide you to start factfinding and provide data points (information) for the NHS to build the story of Matthew’s accident.
Tell us your recommendation: Create a story using impactful images to detail your fact-finding mission!

NEXT STEP CAREER CHALLENGE:

YEAR GROUPS 10-13 + FE , YEAR GROUPS 11-14 + FE (Northern Ireland) & YEAR GROUPS S4-S6 (Scotland)

After a sudden bump and fall, should they visit A&E or is first aid enough for all?

Wednesday 15th January at 5pm

Rachel and three of her friends were riding their electric scooters, chatting and laughing, not paying attention to the road ahead. Suddenly, they hit a bump they hadn’t noticed, causing them all to lose control and fall off. Rachel scraped her arm badly and banged her knee. Emma flew over her handlebars and landed on her wrist, which began swelling immediately. James hit the ground hard and landed on his shoulder and is in pain. Maya managed to avoid serious injury but ended up with some bruises.

Emma’s swollen wrist might indicate a fracture, and the pain in James’ shoulder may mean a dislocation. Rachel and Maya have come out of the accident with scrapes and bruises.

The NHS are trying to improve the efficiency of Accident & Emergency (A&E) departments. They’ve noticed that some hospitals are struggling to meet the 4-hour waiting time target, where patients should be seen, treated, admitted, or discharged within four hours of arrival. To help solve this, they need to better understand how patients move through A&E and what factors cause delays.

Goal: Join the NHS team to understand why some patients are waiting longer than 4 hours
Mission: Your job is to analyse data from various A&E departments to answer the following questions

What factors like the type of injury affect waiting times?
How the number of patients visiting A&E changes across different calendar months and different locations of the UK?
Is there a trend you can find to advise the NHS how to prepare? What would be the most appropriate site to add an additional minor injuries unit and why?

What this career challenge will involve

Join the live session: Meet the NHS team.
Information: Use the data we will provide you to answer the above questions.
Tell us your recommendation: Present your ideas in a fun and impactful way to advise the NHS how they can meet the 4-hour waiting time target.

STEP UP CAREER CHALLENGE:

UNIVERSITY + HE

“Turning Data into Care: Predicting and Preparing for the Future of Mental Health Services”

Tuesday 4th March at 6pm

The NHS is experiencing an unprecedented surge in demand for mental health services. Long waiting times, particularly for young people is placing pressure on patients and providers alike. In parallel, the use of prescription medications, especially for managing anxiety and depression, has seen a marked increase. These trends indicate a need for innovative data solutions that can proactively anticipate future demands.

This challenge offer students the opportunity to delve into datasets reflecting service demand, waiting times, patient demographics, and drug usage trends, aiming to build actionable insights that can help the NHS optimise resources, predict future demand, and improve patient care.

Goal: Join the NHS team and help them form a long-term data strategy for mental health services.

Data Analysis approach – designed for students who are starting their data literacy journey
Analyse trends in mental health service demands, examining factors contributing to long waiting times. Identify peak demand periods and demographic insights to understand who is most impacted by delays.
Explore data on the prescription rates of common mental health medications. Investigate any correlations between drug usage patterns and patient outcomes, with the aim to provide recommendations for evidence-based treatment plans to improve patient care and reduce reliance on medications where appropriate.

Data Science approach – designed for students who are keen to develop their programming skills.

Develop a forecasting tool using statistical and machine learning methods to predict future demand for mental health services over the next 5 years. This model should consider changing demographics, socio-economic trends, and potential post-pandemic mental health impacts.

What this career challenge will involve

Join the live session: Meet the NHS team.
Information: Use the data we will provide you to answer the above questions.
Tell us your recommendation: Provide in an impactful and informative way to advise the NHS how they can form a long-term data strategy for mental health services.