You are eligible for a free course upgrade if you fall into one of the following categories:

Group A: Employees, workers and contractors of NHS organisations which provide NHS-commissioned care in the United Kingdom

Examples: NHS Trusts; GP practices; NHS Treatment Centres; Defence Medical Services; Prison Healthcare Services.

Group B: Individuals of non NHS organisations which provide NHS-commissioned care in the United Kingdom working directly with NHS patients

Examples: independent, private, charitable and voluntary sector organisations; local authority organisations which provide NHS-commissioned care or work in partnership with the NHS to provide care to NHS patients, including dental practices pharmacies, hospices, cancer support charities and social enterprise organisations; government-funded bodies which provide public health services and organisations that work in partnership with NHS organisations.

Group C: Employees, workers and contractors of organisations which commission care for NHS patients in the United Kingdom

Examples: Clinical Commissioning Groups, Commissioning Support Units; NHS England Area Teams; NHS Commissioning Boards; NHS Commissioning Support agencies; Local Authorities including those in a Public Health role.

Group D: Employees, workers and contractors of organisations which receive government funding to provide executive, regulatory, advisory and delivery services to the NHS in the United Kingdom

Examples: The Department of Health (DH); Local Education and Training Boards; Health Education England; Monitor; the Care Quality Commission; DH ‘Arm’s Length Bodies’ including Special Health Authorities, Executive Agencies and Non Departmental Public Bodies, and DH-owned companies.

Group E: Individual employees, workers and contractors of organisations which receive government funding to provide social care services or information to support social care service delivery

Examples: Integrated Care Systems, local authorities, Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, Social Care Institute for Excellence, Skills for Care, Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People’s Services.

Group F: Registered health care professionals who provide NHS-commissioned care in the United Kingdom

Examples: registered medical practitioners, dentists, dispensing and ophthalmic opticians, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and dispensing staff; registered professionals recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and by the Health Professions Council, including independent sector nurses providing cancer care.

Group G: Individuals engaged to provide education, training or research for the NHS in the United Kingdom

Examples: educators contracted to provide training to the NHS, librarians delivering services to NHS, researchers contracted to do DH- or NHS-funded research.

Group H: Healthcare students, from the date of commencement of an education programme which involves practice and placement within NHS provider services, for the duration of their programme

Healthcare students at universities for the duration of their course. Students at these universities will have NHS accounts set up for them and use a Health and care email address to enrol. Healthcare students can also apply for access when on their NHS placement.

Group I: Patients, carers and members of the public who have NHS Library access (walk-in access only)

Note: Only those patients, carers and members of the public that have access to local NHS library & knowledge service premises in the United Kingdom.

Group J: Any other person authorised by a national NHS FutureLearn Partner to use or otherwise have the benefit of NHS Deliverables or Services

Examples: NHS volunteers; employees of PFI partners which provide maintenance, catering and portering services in hospitals; individual representatives of NHS-related collaboratives e.g. HealthWatch, Comprehensive Local Research Networks, Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care, Health Innovation & Education Clusters; individual public-sector employees working in partnership with the NHS e.g. coroner, health service ombudsman, police officer; registered members of NHS library services; at the discretion of NHS FutureLearn Partners, retired NHS staff who have retained their professional registration.

Exclusions

The following individual applications are excluded:

• Persons working for private organisations commissioned to provide NHS care that do not have direct contact with NHS patients. Examples: Managers and administrators in private health and social care organisations, Locum Doctors between placements

The following organisations are excluded (except where individuals are eligible authorised users)

• Royal colleges
• Higher education institutions
• Private sector organisations which solely provide non-NHS commissioned care
• Private sector organisations which provide consultancy services to the NHS
• Pharmaceutical companies
• Health-related research and information charities which do not provide NHS commissioned care or are not commissioned by the NHS to provide research and information
• Commercial information providers.