Efficiency Award

Endorsed and Sponsored by

The NHS has always been pushed to improve efficiency. However the pressure to make further improvements has increased in recent years, as the service has eliminated deficits and, in some parts of the UK, moved towards the generation of surpluses to fund service and capital developments. But the demand for further improvements is likely to become even more intense over the next few years as the service comes to terms with a return to more traditional levels of growth. Major improvements in access standards and financial management will not be allowed to slip. But an increased focus on raising quality of services and outcomes will require organisations to free up resources and improve value for money and efficiency. The wider economic climate adds to the financial pressure, making greater value for money from frontline services, support functions and the procurement of goods and services vital. This award focuses on the role of the finance team in supporting service improvement and efficiency. 

Further detail on this Award can be found in HFMA’s 2009 Awards brochure.

Winner Newham University Hospital NHS Trust

Like the rest of the NHS, Newham University Hospital NHS Trust is no stranger to productivity drives and cost-saving. Over the past four years it has removed excess costs of more than £45m – and 2009/10 has been no different. The year began with a requirement to save £13m, of which £5.7m had not been identified. The finance team realised the solution to the shortfall was not ‘more of the same’. A dedicated team, led by director of finance and resource management Ian O’Connor, was established to identify how improvements would be delivered and led to the trust setting up its ‘quality, safety…efficiency’ (QSE) programme.

Achievements

The judges commended the trust for making significant savings over several years. The finance team was also praised for promoting clinical engagement and addressing underlying inefficiencies rather than ‘salami slicing’. 

‘Backed by resources to enable change to be achieved, the results have been exceptional; not only through achieving savings in the short term but by creating a cultural shift that is a positive legacy to assist in the development of future years’ savings plans,’ they added.

The trust's assistant director of service improvement, Jenni Thomas, said the initiative showed quality and efficiency could go hand in hand. 'It is a recognition of all the hard work the trust has put in to focus on quality and safety and I think we have proved that you can be efficient and improve quality.

'Quality has improved in so many ways – we have been focusing on areas throughout the trust, such as theatres, outpatients and IT. But the patients have been at the centre of what we have tried to do, rather than money.'

Further detail on the winning entry is available in the HFMA 2009 Awards Supplement.

What the judges said

“By focusing on quality and safety, Newham has cleverly engaged a wide spectrum of staff and achieved significant efficiency improvements”

Further detail on the entry requirements, judging criteria and judges for this particular award can be found in the HFMA 2009 Awards Brochure.

Also shortlisted
NHS Oldham
Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Central Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Trust