Web app · NHS · GOV.UK Design System
QCovid COVID-19 Risk Calculator
Context
At the height of the pandemic, doctors and the public needed a way to understand individual risk of serious illness from COVID-19 — not headlines, but a shared, evidence-based picture of risk a patient and GP could discuss together. QCovid®, developed by University of Oxford researchers, provided the model. It needed an interface.
What I did
I designed the calculator to be as small as possible: three pages — personal and medical information, then results. Familiar GOV.UK patterns throughout, no novel interactions, nothing to decode. Every design decision was tested against one question: can a busy clinician complete this quickly and accurately on the first attempt?
I planned and ran usability tests to understand how end users worked with the platform in their real roles, identify friction, and measure satisfaction — then iterated on the findings.
I planned and ran usability tests to understand how end users worked with the platform in their real roles, identify friction, and measure satisfaction — then iterated on the findings.
Impact
The QCovid® model was used by NHS Digital to identify patients in England at high risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes — adding 1.7 million people to the national shielded patient list in February 2021 and prioritising them for vaccination.