The Department of Health and Social Care is inviting digital, data and technology professionals across the health and care system to apply as volunteer service assessors, a role designed to help improve the quality, accessibility and user focus of public digital services.
The opportunity is aimed at people working in government departments, the NHS and arm’s length bodies who understand the Government Service Standard and want to use that experience beyond their own organisation. DHSC says the role is voluntary, but it offers assessors a practical way to learn from other teams while helping services meet stronger delivery standards.
What DHSC service assessors actually do
A service assessment is a structured review of a digital service at key stages of development. It gives delivery teams time to step back and test whether they are solving the right problem, designing for real user needs and building a service that can work safely and reliably in practice.
The role is not simply about checking boxes. Assessors look at evidence, ask focused questions and provide clear, practical feedback. The aim is to help teams improve their service, not just pass a review.
This is especially important in health and care, where digital services may be used by patients, carers, clinicians, administrators and public-sector staff. Poor design, weak accessibility or unclear service performance can create avoidable problems. A strong assessment process helps reduce those risks before services move further through delivery.
Why the Government Service Standard matters
The Government Service Standard sets expectations for how public services should be built and improved. It focuses on user needs, accessibility, performance, security, continuous improvement and joined-up delivery.
For DHSC, service assessments are one way to bring that standard into everyday practice. They help teams challenge assumptions, review what has been learned from users and decide whether a service is ready for the next phase.
A key point in the announcement is that assessments are not only about assurance. They are also about learning, sharing experience and raising the quality of digital services across the wider health and care system.
Who can apply for the voluntary role?
DHSC is seeking applications from professionals working in digital, data and technology roles. The invitation includes user researchers, designers, tech leads, technical architects, product leads and performance analysts.
Applicants are not expected to know everything about every discipline. However, they should have a good working knowledge of the Government Service Standard, experience in their own role and an understanding of how the standard applies during alpha, beta and live service phases.
People working in government departments, the NHS and arm’s length bodies can apply. Contractors may also be considered if they are on a longer-term contract and apply through their host organisation email address.
Because this is a voluntary role, DHSC makes clear that applicants should speak to their line manager before applying. Manager support matters because assessors need time for training, preparation, assessment sessions and follow-up work.
Training and shadowing before assessment work
Successful applicants will attend a five-hour online training session. This training is followed by shadowing one or two service assessments, giving new assessors a chance to see how panels operate before taking on the role fully.
The shadowing stage is important because service assessment work relies on judgement, collaboration and careful questioning. It helps new assessors understand the tone of the process and how to contribute useful feedback without turning the review into a narrow compliance exercise.
Time commitment after training
Once trained, assessors are expected to take part in at least two assessments each year. Each assessment includes pre-reading, attendance at the assessment session and input into the final report.
DHSC says an assessment session usually lasts around 4.5 hours. After the session, assessors typically have about a week to provide their written input. That makes the role a manageable but serious commitment, especially for people balancing it with a full-time digital or technology role.
Why professionals may want to join
For applicants, the biggest benefit may be exposure to a wider range of digital services than they would normally see in their own job. Assessors can observe how different teams approach user research, design decisions, product priorities, technical architecture and performance measurement.
That experience can strengthen an assessor’s own practice. Lessons learned from other services can be brought back into their home organisation, helping improve internal delivery culture as well as the services being assessed.
The programme also creates connections between specialists across government and health. For digital professionals looking to broaden their public-sector experience, it offers a useful route into cross-government service assurance and collaborative delivery.
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How to apply
Professionals interested in becoming a DHSC service assessor should email dhsc.digitaltechcontrols@nhs.net to request an Expression of Interest form.
Applicants should make sure they meet the experience requirements and have line manager support before submitting interest. For the right digital, data or technology professional, the role offers a chance to help improve health and care services while gaining practical insight into how strong public services are assessed.
For more coverage of digital transformation and public-facing technology, see this related update on how AI shopping assistants are changing digital service design.
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