Image source: Mid and South Essex NHS Integrated Care Board
NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board has enlisted the help of local school students in developing two interactive games to help the public understand the issues in healthcare budget decisions.
It has worked with teenage coders from Southend High School for Boys to produce the simulations.
One challenges users to balance resources between GP services and hospitals, managing staff recruitment and facility development while meeting targets to deliver high quality patient care.
Players must carefully consider how their spending affects maximum capacity and patient outcomes, providing a realistic glimpse into healthcare resource management.
The second game presents players with six crucial healthcare sectors - including mental health, maternity care, and A&E services - demonstrating how funding decisions impact both individual patient experiences and nationwide healthcare outcomes.
Random events, such as unexpected budget changes due to a flu outbreak, add real world complexity to the decision making process.
Feedback, design, scenarios
Key features of the games include real time feedback on healthcare outcomes, accessible design and scenarios based on current healthcare challenges.
The ICB hopes the games will be used in a community engagement initiative on local healthcare priorities.
Its chief executive, Tom Abell, said: "These games offer an innovative way to help our community understand the challenges we face in allocating healthcare resources to make the biggest difference. I would like to thank all of the students involved.
“They have done a really fantastic job of creating engaging tools that demonstrate how funding decisions affect both individual patients and our broader healthcare system.
“We hope these tools will be part of a conversation with the wider public on priorities for the future so that we can create an NHS that works for everyone and is financially sustainable for the long term."
