Boyle returns to WWL

Mr Boyle, who was previously Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group’s chief financial officer, spent six years at WWL between 2002 and 2008, and he jumped at the chance to return.

‘I really enjoyed my time here previously, and it’s the longest time I’ve spent in one role. As soon as the job came up, I knew it was an opportunity to go back to an organisation where I could hit the ground running. Some of the faces of the directors have changed, but a lot of the senior clinicians remain the same,’ he says.

He admits that joining an organisation during a pandemic is not the best timing, but in his first few weeks he has been able to have a full induction via MS Teams, including a call with the medical division ‘just to say hello and get a feel for the front line of our Covid response’.

Mr Boyle succeeds Rob Forster, who is now chief finance officer and deputy chief executive of Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Bolton CCG deputy chief financial officer Kelly Knowles is now acting CFO at the commissioning body.

The WWL finance team has a proud record of winning awards, particularly the HFMA annual awards. In November, it was shortlisted for the 2020 Governance Award. ‘The trust has a great reputation in terms of its finance team, and it is well regarded in the North West for best practice in a lot of areas, such as finance staff development,’ Mr Boyle says.

‘For me, it’s about making sure we maintain those standards. We have demonstrated our ability in these awards, but it’s not just about the awards night and the black ties, but how we share best practice and learning with our colleagues.’

He is chair of the HFMA North West Branch and is impressed with how the WWL finance team share learning at branch events. One of his top priorities is to help WWL build on good relationships with Wigan Council, the Healthy Wigan Partnership – which includes the local authority, local providers, GPs and commissioners – and the primary care networks.

He believes the Healthy Wigan Partnership is the vehicle to carry the conversation on joint working and the Wigan pound. ‘In Bolton, we had the concept of the Bolton pound, which could only be spent once, whether it sits with the local authority or the NHS. Those conversations have already started in Wigan, and the council and CCG are behind it.

‘It’s about how you talk about social value and how you support the local economy, spending on supplies from local businesses. It’s also about growing our own staff as part of the medium- and long-term response to workforce shortages. And partnerships with education are vital to that.’

The trust has gained teaching status and Mr Boyle says the next step is to become a university foundation trust. Covid-19 poses a challenge to every NHS organisation. But besides this, WWL, like other providers, faces uncertainty over the future of the finance regime.

‘The trust has underlying financial challenges, as most foundations have, and this is where the conversation comes back to the Wigan pound and working with partners to get best value,’ he says. Workforce is linked to the financial challenge, and the trust’s commercial arm is working with Health Education England to recruit international nurses to the North West.

Estates is also a big issue, and with capital in short supply, Mr Boyle feels there is an opportunity to look strategically at building utilisation with its partners.

He was the HFMA’s first national student of the year in 1998, having earlier been given the North West Branch Sue Rosson Award – its annual student award. He says it was his first major interaction with the association nationally, his prize including a place on the US-UK Exchange Programme. It was also the start of a close association with the HFMA, which has continued throughout his career.

‘The association has given me so much over the years – access to a network, development training schemes and support when I was struggling to pass my exams. Giving back through the HFMA is about helping people get some of the experience and support I have received through my career,’ he says. ‘I can’t wait to get back to when we can associate as a branch, go together to our national conference and keep our networks strong.’