The NHS Explained: How the Health System in England Really Works
Get a detailed understanding of the NHS: its inner workings, past and future challenges, and how the whole system fits together.
45,834 enrolled on this course
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
2 hours100% online
How it works
The NHS Explained: How the Health System in England Really Works
This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.
Explore the past, present, and future of the NHS in England
The National Health Service (NHS) is a source of British national pride placed above the BBC, the British Olympic team, and the Royal Family. It affects the lives of millions of people.
But have you ever wondered how many people it takes to keep a nation healthy? Or how much money it costs to run the NHS? Or why hospital waiting times are always in the headlines?
This course will help you understand what keeps the fifth largest employer in the world running. You’ll explore the challenges facing the system, and how to ensure the NHS is fit for the future.
Learn about the history of the NHS and how it functions today
You’ll start the course by delving into the origin story of the national health service. You’ll investigate the health system in England pre-NHS, and see how the service has evolved and developed since then.
You’ll also examine the NHS’s structure, funding, and workforce, to get a fuller picture of how the system functions today.
Investigate current and future challenges facing the NHS
Once you’ve understood how the NHS delivers its services, you’ll dig deeper into the many challenges the system faces. You’ll discuss ways of measuring NHS performance, and what resources are needed to keep the nation healthy.
By the end of the four weeks, you’ll have a deep understanding of the workings of the NHS in England, and a sense of how the system could evolve in the coming years.
Syllabus
Week 1
What is the NHS about?
What do you know about the NHS?
What springs to mind when you think of the NHS? It means lots of different things to different people. And how much do you know about the NHS?
How has the NHS developed over time?
How has the NHS changed over the past 70 years and what are the key milestones that have led to the health system we have in England now?
The building blocks of the NHS: how is the system structured?
The NHS is made up of many different services, agencies and government bodies. How do they all fit together to deliver health care to the population and what do all these different organisations do?
Week 2
How does the NHS work?
How does funding flow through the NHS?
How does NHS funding flow from the Treasury to local services? How much does health care cost and how much do we spend on the NHS in England?
How are decisions made in the NHS?
Once money has reached the NHS, who decides how it's spent? What factors have to be taken into consideration when planning services?
Who works in the NHS?
How many people does it take to keep the NHS running and to keep the nation healthy? Who makes up the 1.4 million people that staff the NHS in England? And what challenges face the future of the workforce?
How do we make sure that the NHS is performing well?
Funding, staffing and planning are all essential activities that keep the NHS running. But how do we know that the NHS is performing well?
Week 3
How is the NHS doing?
Measuring how the NHS is performing
How do we know how the NHS is doing? Measuring the performance of the system and services is one way of understanding how the NHS is doing.
Measuring the quality of care
Another way we can understand how the NHS is doing is to examine the quality of care delivered and patient outcomes.
Measuring what patients think
Patient satisfaction and experience provide another insight into how the NHS is performing.
Week 4
The future of the NHS
The next ten years
What are the factors that will influence change in the NHS over the next decade? Recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and the new Health and Social Care Act are two things that will affect many different aspects of the NHS.
Integration and collaboration
The structure of the NHS is evolving to meet the challenges of the future. This activity will explore what the future structure of the NHS might look like.
Technology and data
New technologies and the internet have revolutionised our everyday lives but the NHS has not kept pace with some of these changes. What is the potential for technology to transform the way in which health care is delivered?
The public and the NHS
As society changes, the NHS needs to change in response in order to ensure that it is fit for the future. Does part of this change need to encompass a shift in our relationship with the NHS?
Finishing up
You've finished the course and by now you should have a broad understanding of the NHS and how it works. What's next?
Who is this accredited by?
The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Demonstrate a wide understanding of how the constituent parts of the NHS in England work together to deliver health and care services
- Summarise the various ways in which the NHS measures how well it is performing
- Discuss the future challenges facing the NHS and the way in which the system is adapting to meet these challenges
- Explore the resources required needed to keep the nation healthy
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone with an interest in the NHS in England and how it works. This includes NHS and social care staff in England and beyond (working in both clinical and non-clinical roles), students considering a career in the NHS, patients, and the public.
Who developed the course?
The King's Fund
The King’s Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care in England. Its vision is that the best possible health and care is available to all.
Ways to learn | Buy this course | Subscribe & save | Start learning today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose the best way to learn for you! | $109/one-off payment | $244.99 for a whole year Automatically renews | Free |
| Fulfill your current learning need | Develop skills to further your career | Try this course - with limits | |
| Access to this course | tick | tick | Limited to 4 weeks |
| Access to 1,000+ courses | cross | tick | cross |
| Learn at your own pace | tick | tick | cross |
| Discuss your learning in comments | tick | tick | tick |
| Certificate when you're eligible | Printed and digital | Digital only | cross |
Cancel for free anytime |
Ways to learn
Choose the best way to learn for you!
Subscribe & save
$244.99 for a whole year
Automatically renews
Develop skills to further your career
- Access to this course
- Access to 1,000+ courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Cancel for free anytime
Buy this course
$109/one-off payment
Fulfill your current learning need
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Start learning today
Free
Try this course - with limits
- Limited to 4 weeks
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades) Sale price available until 2 June 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply. | |||
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
Sale price available until 2 June 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn
Learner reviews
Learner reviews cannot be loaded due to your cookie settings. Please and refresh the page to view this content.
Get a taste of this course
Find out what this course is like by previewing some of the course steps before you join:
Do you know someone who'd love this course? Tell them about it...
You can use the hashtag #nhsexplained to talk about this course on social media.
More courses you might like
Learners who joined this course have also enjoyed these courses.
Browse more in Healthcare & Medicine and Politics & Society
