The NHS Explained: How the Health System in England Really Works Course - The King's Fund
Online, United Kingdom
Course
DURATION
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
STUDY FORMAT
Key Summary
About: Get a detailed understanding of the NHS in England, including how healthcare is delivered, funding, workforce and system organization. You’ll explore why waiting times, costs and staffing affect services, and examine current and future challenges to keep the fifth largest global employer running. The course is developed by The King's Fund.
Career Outcomes: You can apply insights to careers in health policy, health services management, NHS administration, commissioning, public health, consultancy and clinical leadership. Employers include NHS trusts, Integrated Care Systems, policy think tanks, charities and consulting firms. Key opportunities: health policy, service delivery, NHS management, public health, consultancy.
Get a detailed understanding of the NHS - its inner workings, current and future challenges, and how it all fits together.
Learn how healthcare is delivered in the NHS
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 does it cost 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.
When would you like to start?
Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts.
- Date to be announced
Who will you learn with?
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.
What topics will you cover?
- How the NHS in England is structured.
- How different services work together to deliver health care in the NHS.
- How funding flows through the system.
- How well the NHS is doing.
- How performance is measured in the NHS.
- Future challenges facing the NHS and how the system is changing in response to this.
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.
- Discuss the future challenges facing the NHS and the way in which the system is adapting to meet these challenges.
- Summarise the various ways in which the NHS measures how well it is performing.
- Explore the resources required needed to keep the nation healthy.
Who is the course for?
This course is for anyone interested in the NHS in England and how it works. This includes NHS and social care staff in England (working in both clinical and non-clinical roles), students considering a career in the NHS, and patients and the public.












