John Havelock Award

The Jon Havelock Award is made annually to recognise a significant contribution made within the last financial cycle to the NHS finance community by an individual (below Director of Finance level) or team currently working in NHS finance. The Award was established in 1999 to commemorate the significant contribution Jon made to the NHS Finance Staff Development. Jon was the Deputy Director of Finance in the Department of Health prior to his sudden death in 1998. The award is aimed at sharing good practice and innovation in the Financial Management and Financial Performance initiated by Finance staff.

The Award is for professional excellence in financial management or contribution towards the improvement in healthcare delivery either locally or nationally in any of the four health economies in the UK. It is intended to honour the outstanding contribution and effort made by an individual or team who in the judges' view has contributed most to financial performance or financial management in healthcare delivery in the UK. 

Further detail on this Award can be found in HFMA’s 2007 Awards brochure.

Winner: Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust won the Jon Havelock Award for its ‘finance for non-finance managers’ training programme, aimed at budget-holders. The training covers three areas – basics of finance, key issues and new topics, which included an examination of the likely impact of foundation trust status. All non-finance managers must attend the one-day training by the end of 2007/08.

Patrick McDermott, project accountant at the trust, said the award would give the course a further boost. ‘We’re trying to move to service line management and to engage our clinicians. This gives us added impetus to talk to them about financial management.’