Digdata are partnering with the NHS to hold some exciting virtual insight events for your students in January as part of National Work Experience week. The sessions consist of a 45 minute briefing with the NHS team. Students then complete the career challenge at their own pace and are awarded a certificate on completion.
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.