The University of Essex and Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre KTP 24_25 R4

Intensive care units in the UK collect vast amounts of data on patient outcomes, but much of it remains locked inside complex spreadsheets and databases that clinicians and hospital managers struggle to use effectively. This project will build new visualisation tools and accessibility frameworks to turn that raw intensive care data into clear, interactive displays that people can actually work with. The core problem is a gap between data collection and data use. The Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre holds one of the world’s richest datasets on critical care outcomes, yet the information is often too dense or technically demanding for frontline staff to interrogate quickly. Without better access, opportunities to spot patterns, compare performance, or identify emerging risks are lost. If successful, this work could change how intensive care units monitor their own performance. Clinicians might see real-time dashboards showing survival rates, complication trends, or resource use. Hospital managers could compare their unit’s outcomes against national benchmarks without needing a data analyst. The public, too, could gain clearer insight into how their local intensive care unit performs. This is applied, practical work—not fundamental science—aimed at making existing data genuinely useful for decision-making.