Louise Clarkson is currently part of the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme (GMTS), specialising in Policy and Strategy. Over the past three months, she undertook a flexi placement at Akeso. A flexi placement is a short-term secondment that gives NHS GMTS trainees the opportunity to gain experience outside their planned NHS placements, exposing them to best practice, innovation, different management styles and new ways of working that can be brought back into the NHS.
As part of my NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme, I recently completed a three-month flexi placement with the Akeso team, gaining valuable first-hand experience of healthcare consultancy. Coming from a policy and strategy background within the NHS, I was keen to understand how consultancy supports the delivery of the NHS’s strategic priorities. This placement offered the ideal opportunity to explore that in practice.
From day one, I was trusted with real responsibility and quickly felt like a valued member of the team. I became involved immediately in a high-profile system improvement project, working closely with colleagues and external stakeholders. This exposure gave me a broader, more holistic view of the NHS, beyond the perspective of a single organisation. My role was varied, spanning the preparation of detailed client materials and active participation in client meetings, which provided a well-rounded insight into consultancy work.
One particular highlight was contributing to the development of Akeso’s neighbourhood health offering and presenting this work to senior managers within the firm. Neighbourhood health is central to the future direction of the NHS, and it was fascinating to combine my policy experience with the creative, forward-looking approaches I learned at Akeso. This experience strengthened my presentation skills and allowed me to benefit from constructive feedback, from highly experienced consultants, on how to refine both content and delivery.
Working across both client-facing and internal projects reinforced the importance of collaboration, adaptability and agile ways of working. Throughout the placement, I developed key skills including communicating complex ideas clearly, responding quickly to evolving client needs and approaching challenges with a more strategic mindset. Viewing the NHS through a consultancy lens was particularly eye-opening and highlighted the vital role consultancy plays in enabling system-wide change and improvement.
Overall, this placement provided me with a strong understanding of healthcare consultancy and the meaningful impact it can have, with patients consistently at the heart of decision-making. For future NHS graduates or interns interested in gaining insight into consultancy, Akeso offers an excellent environment by providing responsibility from day one, exposure to diverse projects and genuine opportunities to develop leadership skills. My advice would be to stay curious, build relationships early and draw on your NHS experience to help deliver meaningful and impactful improvements.
Finally, a huge thank you to the Akeso team for such an insightful, supportive and rewarding experience.