What The NHS Counts Screensaver
The What The NHS Counts screensaver streams datasets published by the NHS Business Services Authority — prescribing volumes, dental and pharmacy payments — alongside its released freedom of information responses. It runs in the browser with nothing to install; press ESC to exit.
How the What The NHS Counts screensaver works
The saver reads The NHSBSA open data portal, key-free.
No account and no key: the request goes straight from your browser, or from this site's own refreshed copy of the feed where the source does not permit browser access.
Values are drawn on a canvas that resizes with the window, so it works on a laptop or a wall display.
If the source is unreachable the saver says so on screen rather than showing stale numbers as though they were current.
A worked example
Each row names a dataset with a short description, the date it changed and how many files it contains. The FOI entries are highlighted, and they are the ones worth noticing: each is a question somebody asked the organisation, and the register of what people ask is a fair description of what it is under pressure about.
Settings & tips
- Accent and Background recolour the display without changing the data.
- Add it to a Multi-view grid to watch it alongside other live savers.
- Press ESC at any time to leave fullscreen.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the Business Services Authority do?
- It processes the NHS's transactional back office in England — prescription payments, dental contracts, pensions and student bursaries — which is why its open data is unusually concrete.
- Is patient data in here?
- No. These are aggregate statistics and organisational records. Nothing in the portal identifies individuals.
- Is this real data?
- Yes. It comes from The NHSBSA open data portal, key-free. Nothing is invented or simulated, and if the source cannot be reached the saver reports that instead of drawing something plausible.
- Does it cost anything or need an account?
- No. Every screensaver here is free, runs in the browser and needs no sign-up. This one uses a public API that requires no key.