Claudia Ruffini – NHS England, Leeds Office

I am a Mathematics Undergraduate studying at the University of Bath. During my placement with the Department of Health, I have been working as an Operational Research Analyst in the Analytical Services Operations directorate in NHS England. I work within a team of four within this directorate and collectively we manage a number of data collections that are published on the NHS England website.

Collections that I have worked on include Mixed Sex Accommodation, Bed Availability and Occupancy, the Friends and Family Test, Monthly and Quarterly Activity Returns, Cancelled Operations and Consultant-Led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times. My responsibilities include collecting this data from providers and commissioners across England, validating the data, producing publications and supporting analysis, quality assuring these and publishing on a monthly or quarterly basis. I answer Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) related to these collections.

I have had opportunity to further develop my skills by attending some courses of my choice and GORS events throughout the year. These kinds of events were always fully supported by my line manager as we are encouraged to seek development opportunities where possible and learn more about Operational Research in Government. There are plenty of lunchtime seminars and junior analyst meetings to attend where you can present or see others presentations. These are always interesting and a good opportunity to learn analysis techniques and about other areas of work within DH or NHS England. I have had the opportunity myself to present on a few occasions and have considerably improved my public speaking through doing so.

I have found Quarry House a very enjoyable place to work. Colleagues were very friendly and welcoming when I first started and everybody is always happy to help if you need support or assistance. I immediately felt part of the team as I was given lots of responsibility. The atmosphere in the branch is professional but relaxed which makes for a good work environment. I’ve become good friends with the other placement students over the year, we organised the Analyst Christmas Party which was a great success and a few of us even went on a ski trip together.

Overall, I feel I’ve learnt a great deal during my time on placement and the experience has helped me hone my skills for future employability that I couldn’t have done at University. The insight has been invaluable and I would recommend a Health based placement to anyone considering it.

Dilraj Sura – NHS England, Leeds Office

I am an undergraduate student studying Mathematics at Brunel University. In July, I took a sandwich placement at the Department of Health, and was put on placement with NHS England. I work as an Operational Research Analyst within the Commissioning and Policy team, specifically within the Primary Medical Care sub-team. I have completed many projects this year around primary care, but my main focus has been in Mental Health, and producing a “State of the Nation” report.

The roles and responsibilities given to the students allow you to develop a whole range of different skills. I worked on projects within primary care such as analysing whether there was a significant difference in the performance of single and non-single handed practices,and analysing premises funding against a range of metrics for GPs. However, the bulk of my work has been in mental health. This has allowed me to learn a new software product called Instant Atlas, a dynamic tool used to compare and assess Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). I have created atlases across a range of topics within mental health, including Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) and Dementia. The most important atlas I built was one to support the “State of the Nation” report, which brought together all publicly available data on mental health. This involved high exposure to political and statistical stakeholders.

The environment you work in as part of the of the placement is exciting. You are quickly integrated into a team with lots of other students. The students traditionally organise the Christmas Analyst Party, which involved a quiz and Christmas lunch. The premises have a gym, swimming pool and squash courts, and is located right in the city centre.

The opportunities that arise as part of the of the work placement are fantastic. There are numerous opportunities to improve IT skills within Office (Excel, PowerPoint and VBA) and the chance to learn new software (Instant Atlas, Simul8 and MapInfo). There are societies you can join such as the Operational Research Society, where you can attend events hosted by people working in the industry. Towards the end of the placement, you are offered to sit an examination and mock interview as if you were applying for a graduate job, and are given feedback. A lot of the opportunities that you are given as part of a placement are impossible to pick up at university. Doing a placement gives you a much better idea of where you want your career to go, and whether you want to be an analyst or not. The Civil Service and NHS offer fantastic graduate schemes, and having a year in the organisation will make your C.V stand out from most in the future.

Dipesh Mistry – Department of Health, Leeds Office

I am an Economics student from Manchester Metropolitan University. I have been working in the Financial Planning, Monitoring & Analysis branch as an Assistant Analyst. My main objective this year has been to maintain and monitor trends in the Health Service Cost Index (HSCI) which is a model that measures the inflation of non-pay expenditure of the NHS.

The team works on many different areas which relate to how and how well the NHS spends the money that it is allocated from the Treasury each year. This year I have been responsible for collating and publishing estimates of NHS inflation (think of it like the NHS version of the retail price index), analysing changes in the way patients are seen in hospital (things like A&E attendances, emergency care, scheduled planned care), how productivity varies across hospitals and how much hospitals have been spending on procurement items (like medical equipment, general supplies, etc). I joined at a time when DH had been informed how much money the NHS will be allocated in 2015, so much of the work was focused on how we measure and monitor the savings the NHS needs to make in the future.

Whilst working here I have always felt valued which stems from knowing the work I produce is used elsewhere by colleagues and some of it being of high importance as I found myself responding to requests from Ministers and other high profile senior officials. For example, I produced a report detailing differences in procurement and staff spend at NHS organisations, this trust level analysis went on to inform a £12 billion procurement strategy impact assessment.

I would definitely recommend this placement to penultimate year students as the scope of opportunity to develop yourself is vast, whether that be technical skills in learning how to use specialist analytical software such as SPSS / Stata or ‘soft’ skills via public speaking in presentations and communicating ideas in person on a day to day basis.

Hannah Williams – Department of Health, London Office

I study Financial Mathematics at the University of Surrey and joined the Health Improvement Analytical Team as an Operational Research Analyst in July 2013. My team is part of the Public Health Directorate and provides analytical support on different areas such as Obesity and Nutrition, Wellbeing, Abortion, Drugs and Alcohol.

Since July I have worked on many different things, including an impact assessment which looked into the link between the folate status of women before and during pregnancy and the prevalence of babies born with a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida. The impact assessment considered different solutions to this problem, including the fortification of flour with folic acid, through cost benefit analysis. I worked with an economist in my team to do this – we had to find a lot of the evidence needed and feed it back to policy colleagues who also helped to write the impact assessment. Another project included analysing the results of a trial which looked at increasing the uptake of NHS Health Checks by sending out different invitation letters. That sounds quite simple but it involves quite a bit of analysis and I learnt many new skills in SPSS. It was interesting to do some analysis on a real problem with real data, something which made a change from university.

There are often many ad hoc things within the team which I work on, supporting colleagues with projects that they are working on. This placement has given me a really good insight into the work that the government do, I had no idea when I first started what goes on in the background to make sure that things are put in place to try and improve the health of the country and its interesting to see how so much of that relies on maths and stats. I have been able to develop my analytical skills which I think puts me in good standing for going back into final year.

Jasmine Doak - Department of Health, London Office

I am currently an undergraduate student studying Mathematics at the University of Bath. This year I have been working as an Operational Research analyst for the Department of Health, within the Dental and Eye-Care Analytical team. The main focus of the team’s work during my placement has been on the development of a new dental contract, which aims to reform the way dentistry is practiced and paid for on a national scale, and is currently being piloted. The team is also responsible for business as usual reporting on dental and eye-care across the country.

My role within the team was largely to support the extensive analytical work on the dental contract reform by maintaining key databases, analysing information, and producing regular reports on the pilots in a timely manner. Additionally, some of my time with the team was spent working under a statistician whose focus was on the business as usual work mentioned above. This variety enabled me to gain a more rounded understanding of the role of the team within DH, as this work area involved gathering, manipulating and reporting data on a national level for both dentistry and eye-care, rather than focusing on the small subset of dental practices which the pilots represented.

As part of my role I was responsible for updating our three main data sources for the dental pilots and for producing monthly reports on their progress. The role of these monthly reports was to give the new contract programme board, comprised of policy colleagues, analysts and key stakeholders, an overview of how the pilots were operating in several key areas. This area of work greatly enhanced my IT skills, involving extensive work in both Excel and Access, which then enabled me to improve the efficiency of how the reports were produced.

The largest project I worked on focused on analysing treatment volumes data collected from both pilot and non-pilot practices, in order to explore the implications of introducing a new care pathway. This was an extensive and complex piece of analytical work, and I was given the lead on transferring the work to the statistical programming package SAS, once again giving me a great opportunity to learn to use a popular piece of industry software and expand my skillset.

My placement also provided a vital opportunity to expand my communication skills, which I’ve had a limited chance to develop within my degree. Most notably, I had never given a presentation during my time at university, but throughout my placement I was given several opportunities to do so, including presentations for other students, for my team, and for the wider DH analytical community. In addition to this, I regularly corresponded with colleagues via phone, email and during business meetings and feel that the placement has offered an invaluable experience to develop my confidence in these situations.

Further benefits of the placement included regular opportunities to attend both courses and seminars hosted for analysts, which allowed you to gain an insight into different work areas and to explore techniques that piqued your interest. Additionally, the student analysts are offered the opportunity to take part in the sifting process for next year’s placement

applicants, which was insightful in understanding how applications are interpreted from the employer’s point of view.

I would definitely recommend applying for a placement within the Department of Health. The work environment is both comfortable and welcoming, and also encourages extensive and varied opportunities for development, including wider learning beyond your particular work area. I am confident that the skills I have developed over the year will be invaluable when applying for graduate opportunities, and have given me great insight into my working interests.

Katrina Walker – NHS England, Leeds Office

I’m a Mathematics student at the University of Bath and joined the Outcomes Analysis Team in August 2013, where I have been working as an Operational Researcher. My team’s work mainly revolves around the NHS Outcomes Framework, which gives guidelines on health related areas that need to be improved on. During my placement I have worked on a variety of different projects, from producing reports on how many health visitors are currently employed in the country, and analysing the cost effectiveness of implementing different mental health interventions throughout the country.

The main project I have worked on is modelling the bowel cancer screening programme, in order to model how screening affects the stage of cancer and the number of people diagnosed with bowel cancer. To do this, I used a programme called Simul8 and input timings, percentages and processes that were found in papers and extracts from journals about the bowel cancer screening programme to find results.

The work throughout my placement has been extremely variable which I have thoroughly enjoyed, as it’s given me the chance to try out loads of different things. This has encouraged me to develop many different skills, mainly my communication and presentation skills, but also my confidence and IT skills have improved too.

I have had the opportunity to chair and take minutes in various meetings, and have also given presentations both in meetings and to a wider audience. In addition to this, I have been able to travel to Sheffield, Birmingham and various places in London for meetings, conferences, workshops and other events.

Although it was a bit daunting at times, I also liked how much responsibility I was given. I found that I was included and treated like a member of the team straight away, with everyone being friendly, approachable and willing to help. There were also lots of other placement students around, which I appreciated as it meant there were other people my age around who were in the same situation as I was.

Overall, I have learnt a huge amount and have progressed so much in just a year, developing many skills and enhancing my employability for the future. I would highly recommend this placement for anyone that’s thinking of applying!

Matthew Baugh – Department of Health, London Office

I am an undergraduate in Maths, Operational Research and Statistics at Cardiff University, coming to the end of my placement with the Department of Health where I have worked as an Operational Research Analyst in the Health Protection Analytical Team. This team is responsible for delivering analysis that helps develop government policies designed to protect the nation, or limit the damage, from risks such as: infectious disease, pandemic influenza, endemic outbreaks, contaminated blood, antimicrobial resistance, and any other event that poses a threat to the nation’s health.

I was assigned to the Pandemic Influenza and Immunisation team, but I have had the opportunity to be involved with projects across Health Protection. Examples of the projects I have been involved with include: Undertaking cost-effectiveness analysis into a national meningococcal B (Men B) vaccine for infants. Providing quality assurance of a financial VBA model that estimates the amount of compensation DH will pay out to patients, over a ten year horizon, infected with blood borne viruses from contaminated donated blood. Developing System Maps of the elements that influence the spread and development of antimicrobial resistance, and the interventions the government can make to delay the point in time when infections will no longer be treatable by antibiotics, and a grazed knee could once again kill.

There have been a significant amount of training courses and seminars on offer over the course of the year. I often receive emails detailing statistical, operational research, econometric, programming (VBA) and many other courses on offer. Cross-governmental seminars provide the opportunity to have an insight into policies colleagues are working on, and to see new analytical techniques being developed. As an Operational Researcher, I was enrolled with the Government Operational Research Service (GORS), which provides a community of analysts to extend your network with, and further courses and seminars.

I can safely say that I have had a unique insight into how government operates and that I am doing a job that not only feels interesting and worthwhile, but that will also stand out on my CV. It has provided solid experience in risk analysis, analytics, operational research, modelling, and data analysis. Added to which, the Civil Service operates with Agile Working, meaning there is flexibility on my working hours. This additional autonomy to my professional life promotes a healthy work-life balance.

I feel very satisfied with my experience at the Department of Health. It has changed my view of life beyond University and I know it will stand me in good stead whichever direction I choose to take my career in.

Rebecca Fry - NHS England, Leeds Office

I am an undergraduate student at the University of Leeds, studying BA Economics and Geography. During my placement year with NHS England, I have been working as part of the Analytical Service within the Policy & Commissioning Team. My work throughout the year has been extremely varied, but this has allowed me to develop skills and gain experience in many different areas.

My work is predominantly focussed around analysis of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and commissioning support units (CSUs). I have spent a proportion of my time this year updating the CCG Outcomes Tool, which is an interactive tool on NHS England’s website, allowing users to see for themselves how their CCG compares to others in their Area Team, Region and nationally, across a number of different health outcomes and demographic indicators. This gave me the opportunity to develop a complex knowledge of Excel, something which I have used on an almost daily basis this year.

Alongside another non-analytical team within NHS England, I was involved in the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund bids process. I was asked to produce a series of maps, which were to be used in press releases when bids were announced to the general public. This task allowed me to use Mapinfo, a complex piece of mapping software which I had some exposure to during my first two years at university, and wanted to develop my skills in this year.

There are several other opportunities for personal development while on the analytical placement scheme. There are analytical seminars which you are invited to attend, and students also get the opportunity to present at these as well. There are opportunities to organise events throughout the year, and every effort is made to ensure that you gain as much varied experience as possible throughout the year. You get the opportunity to attend Operational Research (OR) Society events, which are extremely useful in realising where your placement can take you with the skills you have gained over the year.

In Quarry House, there is plenty to get involved in, and there is a lovely, friendly atmosphere. HASSRA has many different sports and hobbies clubs to get involved in, and there is a leisure centre as well. I have always felt completely comfortable asking anyone in my team for help on tasks I have been assigned, and they are always more than willing to share their knowledge and time with you. I have developed both professionally and personally, with my time management, professional communication and excel skills all improving considerably. I would recommend this placement scheme to anyone wanting to gain experience working in a government department/arm’s length body, and develop skills in OR or statistics, whilst being given many opportunities to develop more general professional and personal skills in an analytical environment.

Romana Karolia –NHS England, Leeds Office

As part of my placement year I worked for the Analytical Services (Finance) team as an Operational Research Analyst. I mainly worked on strategic pieces such as simulating the Dementia Care Pathway and the Urgent & Emergency Care system. I have also worked on various other projects alongside this.

During the year I worked on my own project – simulating the Dementia Care Pathway. Not only did this enhance my technical skills, as I was working on my own I was able to lead in this project. This included working with external stakeholders such as the Bradford Dementia Group and researchers at the University of Bradford. I was able to travel to Bradford to present my model to stakeholders and work alongside them to develop my work. This required a great deal of responsibility and I was able to learn a lot about project development and management.

I have had the opportunity to develop a variety of skills over the course of the year. In terms of technical skills, I attended a training course for a software package called ‘Simul8’ which was a wholly new skill for me. This is a piece of modelling software used throughout DH in various projects for predictive analysis. I was also able to use the software frequently which helped develop and maintain my skills in writing code.

There are various presentation opportunities in DH and I was able to present at two of the three student presentation opportunities, this included one in London. I was also able to present my work at an Urgent and Emergency Care event to external clients such as CCG Board Members. This helped to increase my confidence and presentational skills greatly.

I was also provided with the opportunity to get involved with various Operational Research groups such as the Yorkshire and Humberside Operational Research Society (YHORG) where I was able to attend monthly lectures and training events. I also attended a two day training course with the Government Operational Research Society (GORS) which helped develop my understanding of OR in other Government departments. Both of these were excellent networking event.

My time at DH has been extremely educational and I have been able to develop a whole variety of invaluable technical and personal skills. The placement has presented me with a series of challenges which has been exciting. Working for a Government department is always interesting due to the size of the organisation which means there are always training and networking opportunities. There is also the added benefit of knowing how useful your work can be. Therefore I would recommend that student should apply for a placement year at the Department of Health.

Sarah Brill – NHS England, Leeds Office

I am a mathematics student from the University of Sheffield. For my placement year I have been working for NHS England analytical services supporting work on primary medical care and mental health. During the year I have had the opportunity to undertake many interesting projects; the most recent of these was a “State of the Nation” report on mental health. Another student and I were responsible for pulling together a report collating a vast amount of data around mental health. To do this, we had to communicate with customers to understand their expectations as well as with mental health experts who helped guide us to relevant data. We then conducted analysis on the data collected and produced a report. It was a really interesting project to work on as mental health is currently a high profile issue within the NHS. I gained many skills through doing this project including communication skills, project management, and time management. I also gained a greater understanding of data and the limitations that need to be considered. Through doing the project, I had the opportunity to attend events in London and present some of the work to mental health experts.

I have also worked on a variety of other projects, including a project comparing the performance of GP practices where there is just one full time GP against the performance of other GP practices and a project looking at winter pressures on mental health services. Through working on all of these projects I have gained a higher knowledge of excel and a greater understanding of putting statistical techniques into practice in the workplace.The job is extremely varied so is always interesting. There are often a few projects to work on at once so I have gained valuable time management skills and learnt how to work efficiently. I have really enjoyed being given the responsibility to work on my own projects but everyone in the team is always willing to help if there are any problems.

Overall it has been a really fun year, there are 13 students in Leeds so it has been fun to socialise with everyone inside and outside of work. It is easy to make some really good friends. The best part of the placement has to be organising the analyst Christmas party, which the students are responsible for every year.

Quarry House is a great place to work, it’s a really friendly atmosphere and there are so many facilities. There is even a swimming pool and hairdressers! I have learnt so many skills and have really enjoyed the year so I would definitely recommend it as a placement year for anyone interested in analytical work.

Stephanie Carpenter – Department of Health, London Office

My placement year has been spent working as an Assistant Strategy Advisor for the Department of Health’s Strategy Group in Richmond House, London. My team of 17 is comprised of both analysts and non-analysts; my role is that of an analyst, specifically an Operational Researcher.

Strategy Group has been working on a programme of work that is comprised of 11 projects that cover the upcoming strategic challenges that the department faces. I have contributed to a number of these projects both through larger pieces of work and more ad hoc pieces of analysis that others in the team have requested to support their projects.

The largest piece of work I have completed is a project to build a model to estimate the cost of working age ill-health to the economy. This has involved working with a number of economists to ensure all components had been covered and methodical problem structuring. The model had to be presented in a way that was clear, accurate and able to be handed over for others to use.

I have also had experience of quality assurance, handling large data sets and linking different sources of information together to build up a robust picture. This was largely in a project looking at long term conditions and their change in prevalence and costs over time, with a view to how this will change in the future.

Throughout my placement I have attended a whole host of seminars in the department ranging from ethics in genomics to health technologies and innovation. These are a great way of finding out about other work being carried out in the department and the wider health industry as outside speakers are often invited to speak. On a larger scale, the Government Operational Research Service holds an annual two day conference which brings together Operational Researchers from across all Government departments for a wide range of seminars and workshops.

Taking a year away from university to get some work experience has been invaluable on a variety of levels. It has allowed me to test out a career before committing and to speak to a wide range of people about their career paths and experiences. Furthermore, it has given me new motivation for my final year of studying with the added financial bonus of a year earning a full time salary. I would whole heartedly recommend any second year student considering doing a placement year to apply for the Department of Health.

Susu Zhang – NHS England, Leeds Office

I have been working as a Data Analyst within the Analytical Service (Finance) team. My main focus for the year has been the work on a Medicine Optimisation Prototype Dashboard and the Health Premium Incentive Scheme. I have also partially worked alongside the Better Care Fund.

The Medicines Optimisation Prototype Dashboard (MO Dashboard) brings together a range of medicines-related data in a way never previously done, with the hope that it will help CCGs explore how well their local populations are supported to optimise medicines use. Our team role was to provide the analytical support on this work, including leading the technical development of the dashboard. My task was to produce an active dashboard and deliver all the technical measurements in Excel. This included measuring the distribution of the proposed metrics that covered the required domains and principles, collecting and understanding data for all the sub-indicators, obtaining and converting results at different levels, creating an interactive report, generating charts, and making a quality assurance plan.

Health Premium Incentive Scheme (HPIS) is a scheme to reward local authorities based on their achievement of performance. My tasks were to produce an index summary based on the data quality and provide data analysis covering 61 sub-indicators and 152 local authorities using mathematical forecasting techniques.

Working in the analytical team has heavily enhanced my Excel skills which I use on a daily basis to solve problems. This has required a higher working knowledge of Excel whilst also learning more about statistics and also writing statistical commentary. Having a focus on the MO Dashboard and HPIS has given me an understanding of the NHS structure and bodies such as Clinical Commissioning Group, Area Teams and Trusts.

My written communications have also improved significantly while on placement. Writing reports and giving presentations to the MO measurement and technical groups has required me to consider my audience and constantly think about the purpose of the presentation.

Vaishali Shah - NHS England- London Office

I am a mathematics undergraduate from The University of Greenwich. I am currently working as a statistical analyst for the Outcomes Analytical Team which is a team that sits across both organisations, Department of Health and NHS England. The team carries out a variety of work surrounding the Outcomes Framework and carries out many projects in order to improve services and care provided to patients.

During my time in the team I have acquired many software skills such as SPSS, Simul8, Stata and have extensively used Unify2, which is a software that has been created for trusts to submit data in a secure manner. I have extensively used Unify2 for the data collections that I have been working on. My Excel skills have significantly improved through handling large spreadsheets. The presentation of my spreadsheets has also drastically improved as I have shared spreadsheets with non- technical colleagues and so have learnt the art of presenting them in ways that spreadsheets can be interpreted and understood in a simpler manner.

I have also been presented with many opportunities to enhance my non-technical skills and abilities such as project management. I have organised and chaired many meetings during the year which has in turn improved my time management skills. There have also been many opportunities to present my work to analytical audiences and clinicians as well as engaging with stakeholders on a daily basis which have improved my communication skills. By working on projects that support both organisations I have had extensive exposure to high profile projects such as the Dementia data collection which is one of the Prime Ministers priorities. As well as this I have been involved in a project by the Secretary of State with varying and tight deadlines which has improved my ability to meet tight deadlines. I have also had the opportunity to work on rewarding projects for National Clinical Directors, as my work will help improve services provided to patients.

Throughout the year I have had a very supportive team who have guided me and advised me on areas I am unsure about. Due to this I have seen a huge growth in the skills I now possess which I feel has enhanced my confidence in applying for jobs after I graduate.

Waleed Backler – Department of Health, Leeds Office

Studying Mathematics at the University of Greenwich for two years ensured that I had a sound knowledge of mathematical elements. However, I wanted to do a year-long sandwich placement so that I could apply my mathematical skills to real world problems and build my experience as well as other key skills such as communication and time-management. I joined the Patients and Information Analytical team of NHS England where I worked mainly as a statistician.

Our team deals almost exclusively with data generated by patient opinion – data that tells us how patients think and feel about the care that they receive. This means we have a huge responsibility to act upon the data and to flag up problems with policy teams. I have created a number of user tools of which some have been published on the NHS England website and received positive feedback from colleagues both within and outside the organisation. I have been given responsibility to carry out important tasks such as the creation of national statistics. It is rewarding to know that some of the work I have done has been shown to the Director for improving patient experience and decisions are being made based on that work.

Another aspect of my placement that I have enjoyed is the fact that I have been able to work in many different areas of patient experience. For example, one day I was working on the Inpatient survey while the next, I was working on patient’s personal health budgets. I think this has improved my skills even more as I have become more flexible when taking on tasks which are not similar in any way.

The main skills I have used from my degree have been my statistical skills as well as my time-management and problem-solving skills. I have applied statistical testing on real-world data while using my problem-solving skills when trying to deduce software codes or following methodology statements. I have learnt to prioritise between multiple tasks because unlike university where you have a set timetable, unexpected work of high priority can emerge at any time when working in NHS England. I’ve also developed my understanding of how to communicate complex information to non-technical audiences. I am delighted to have developed this significant skill because not everyone understands mathematical and statistical terms which is different to what you’d expect in university.

NHS England also funded a VBA course that myself and other colleagues undertook. I also had the opportunity to take an active part in the latest Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) at Leeds General Infirmary. This allowed me to see the bigger picture and understand the significance behind all the work that analysts do and how one bit of analytical work can affect policy decisions which in turn can affect the level of care that patients receive.

I have enjoyed working in NHS England, especially since all members of my team are focused and dedicated to their work. This experience will certainly benefit me for the rest of my degree and future employment. I would wholly recommend the Department of Health/NHS England to anyone looking for an interesting and rewarding placement full of opportunities and diversity.