Data and analytics

Data and analytics professionals in the NHS use data to support planning and operational decision-making. Ultimately, their work improves healthcare services for patients.  

Life as a data and analytics professional 

You’ll play a vital role in solving problems using data across a variety of health and care settings. 

You’ll make sure that the NHS has access to reliable data and work as a team to improve its quality and accuracy.  

Roles as an NHS data and analytics 

  • You’ll work on projects that use data to help predict health trends and understand what patients need. 

     You’ll team up with other data experts to: 

    • Gather information from different sources. 
    • Get the data ready so it can be analysed. 
    • Use statistics to spot patterns and trends. 
    • Share your findings through clear reports, dashboards, and visuals. 

    Your aim is to simplify complex data so it’s easier for users of services, frontline staff and health and care leaders to understand.   

  • You’ll use data to find ways to prevent, treat and cure disease. You’ll use data science to map pandemics.  

    You’ll answer data related questions that can help health and care organisation to better use time and resources for the benefit of patients. You’ll help clinical leaders to improve services. You’ll create tools and visuals—like charts, reports, and presentations—that help explain data clearly and simply.

    Your main responsibilities include:

    • Finding patterns and insights in data to support better decisions.
    • Gathering information from different sources.
    • Looking after the systems and databases that store the data.  

  • You’ll help collect, organise, and store large amounts of data so it’s easy for others to find and use.

    You’ll use your skills in data and coding to build tools that help collect and organise information, making it easier for others to understand and use.

    Your day-to-day work will include:

    • Creating solutions that help teams access and analyse data more easily.
    • Making sure data is stored securely and works efficiently.

    You’ll focus on improving how reliable and accurate the data is, bringing together information from different places. You’ll also explore new ways to pull out useful data for reporting and decision-making. 

  • There are also other roles in the data profession, including data governance managers, data ethicists, analytic engineers, machine learning engineers and digital evaluators.   

    You can find out more about these roles on the Federation for Informatics Professionals website.   

How much can I earn

NHS employees are paid through national NHS terms and conditions - Agenda for Change (AfC).  

  • Entry level data positions for data analysts and data engineer apprentices start on Band 3 with most progressing to Band 5 roles on completion of the apprenticeship.  
  • Health informatics graduate trainees on the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme are at Band 5 with most progressing to Band 7 roles on completion of the scheme  
  • Most data analyst, data engineer and analytics engineer roles progress from Band 4 to Band 7
  • Other specialist data roles like data science, data governance management, data ethicist, machine learning engineering and digital evaluator roles progress from Band 6 to Band 8b  
  • There is potential for all data roles to progress into management positions at Band 9.

How about the benefits

Working in NHS data roles offers:

  • the chance to make a difference to people's lives
  • flexible and parttime working options
  • competitive salary progression
  • ability to work across many sectors and locations
  • excellent pension scheme
  • good annual leave entitlement
  • NHS discounts in shops, services and restaurants 

Must have skills

Skills needed may differ depending on the role but generally you’ll need to be:

  • Strong with numbers and able to spot patterns in data.
  • Careful and accurate, with a good eye for detail.
  • Enjoy solving problems and finding better ways to do things.
  • Comfortable using digital tools and technology.
  • Skilled at working with data—organising it, analysing it, and building models.
  • Experienced in managing databases and storing large amounts of information.
  • Quick to learn new tools and techniques, including coding and statistics.
  • Able to explain data clearly to both technical and non-technical people. 

How to become a data and analytics professional

There are a variety of routes to become a data and analytics professional, and it will depend on your current qualifications and experience.  

    • data analyst apprenticeship
    • entry level job that involves working with data, such as a data clerk, and work your way up into a data scientist position
    • a bachelor’s degree in data science or another relevant subject such as maths, finance or economics.   

    • data engineering apprenticeship  
    • entry level data job such as a data technician role 
    • degree in a relevant subject, such as computer or data science, or software engineering.  

  • Most data scientists start as a data analyst or engineer and then move into data science or related roles such as a data ethicist or machine learning engineer. These are more specialist roles needing more technical and programming skills.  

    You’ll do this through on the job training such as apprenticeship opportunities at level 6:    

  • There are also an increasing number of training options to help you get into the data profession, such as bootcamps and the level 3 data technician apprenticeship. These allow you to work while you learn.  

    Data science students can also gain relevant work experience through placements in healthcare.  that you can do as part of your undergraduate or master’s degree. There is also a Health Data Science Black Internship programme 

Entry requirements

You’ll need a minimum of five GCSEs with English and maths at Level 2 which is equivalent to GCSE Grade 4 or C or equivalent qualification such as functional skills. This is the minimum requirement for a Level 4 Data Analyst apprenticeship.  

Graduates joining through the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme need the minimum of a 2:2 and it’s recommended that the degree has a minimum of 30% numerical content. This could be a STEM degree, economics or finance or a degree that includes statistics, quantitative research or mathematical modelling.

What are my chances of starting a career in data and analytics 

The data profession is growing in health and care. There is a wide range of opportunities to progress your career.  

There’s an increasing focus on data in healthcare with a growing adoption of data driven approaches in the NHS. With growth comes the likelihood of more opportunities in the future.  

There are usually: 

  •  60 data analyst related jobs on the NHS Jobs website.  
  • 10 data scientist jobs on the NHS Jobs website.  
  • 10 data engineering jobs on the NHS Jobs website. 

Where a career in data and analytics can take you

There are excellent career opportunities in health and care as a data and analytics  professional.  

  • Data analytics is an entry route into other data roles. Many data analysts specialise into other data careers such as analytics engineering, data engineering, data science, digital evaluation and data governance.  
  • Data science can take you into various roles in the NHS and other healthcare settings. You could choose to specialise in a specific area like data governance, machine learning engineering or data ethics.  
  • Data engineering can take you into other specialised roles. Many Data Engineers specialise into other data careers such as data governance or analytics engineering.  

You may also have the potential to progress into a leadership role in health informatics and data analysis taking on a more managerial or strategic leadership role. 

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