Feature / Training legacy
As the HFMA Awards have developed in recent years, new categories have been added or existing categories revised as the programme has changed to reflect current policy, priorities and practices in NHS finance. But one award has remained constant. In 2009, the Jon Havelock Award, presented in recognition of a significant contribution towards finance skills development over the past year, marks 10 years since its founding.
The award seeks to recognise best practice in the training and development of finance staff or the raising of financial awareness and skills within the wider non-financial workforce. It aims to share good practice and innovation in financial skills development.
With the advent of new accounting standards, the rise of foundation trusts, new partnerships with non-NHS bodies, the efficiency agenda and the ongoing need to engage clinicians in finance, its themes have never been more relevant.
The award was established in 1999 to commemorate the significant contribution of Jon Havelock to NHS finance staff development (see box). Prior to his death in 1998, Mr Havelock was the deputy director of finance at the Department of Health.
Letsie Tilley, director of finance and planning at Hampshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, was instrumental in setting up the Award.
‘Although I did not know Jon very well, in my national work on finance staff development issues I found him to be intelligent, articulate and inspirational as a leader,’ she says. ‘That is why after his untimely death I pushed the Department of Health to set up an award in his name, to honour what he had achieved.’
Ms Tilley chaired the subgroup that made the award for a number of years and remains on the judging panel. When they are assessing the submissions this year, the judges will be looking for evidence of commitment to
finance skills development, outcomes, transferability to other organisations and value to both organisations and individuals.
The Department of Health’s finance staff development board made the award initially, but since 2007 it has been part of the HFMA’s annual award line-up.
Before it was taken over by the HFMA, the award had a theme each year. In 2005, for example, the theme was achieving excellence. Three awards of £2,000 were given to the Eastern finance staff development unit for its student support network, South Staffordshire Health Care NHS Trust for good practice in board reporting and York Hospitals NHS Trust for its in-house AAT NVQ scheme.
Isle of Wight Primary Care Trust has won the award twice. The first time was in 2001 – when the theme was championing development in turbulent times – for a multi-disciplinary finance team developed to train and support non-finance managers in the trust and make improvements to systems and processes. The second was in 2004 for its work on creating a cost-conscious culture – the finance department ensuring it was fully integrated within the trust and recognised as a key component in supporting and advising staff and departments.
Since 2007, the award has focused firmly on finance training and development. Winners have included Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (2007) for its finance department’s ‘finance for non-finance managers’ training programme, which was aimed specifically at budget holders. In 2008 London strategic health authority was given the award for its project to develop the finance leaders of tomorrow.
Thoughts now turn to this year’s award as it begins its second decade celebrating the best in finance staff development and training.
Deadline for entries for the Jon Havelock Award and the other seven HFMA awards is 2 October. Further details can be found here
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JON HAVELOCK: BEHIND THE MAN Those who met Jon Havelock for the first time quickly became aware of his passions in life – his family, Grimsby Town Football Club and rock music. His wife, Jane, says his love of the likes of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Tangerine Dream manifested itself in more than 3,000 records and CDs. ‘We more or less extended the house to accommodate them,’ she says. At work, finance staff development drove a lot of what he did. He was strongly involved in the CIPFA training scheme, chairing the institute’s examination panel for the north of England. His commitment was such that he even interviewed a trainee at his bedside at the Leeds General Infirmary. Mrs Havelock and daughter Sarah, who has just entered the third year of medical school, are proud of the award that bears his name. ‘It’s great for me and even better for Sarah. She has memories of Jon from when she was a child but it’s nice for her to see, even after 10 years, that the award is still held in high regard by Jon’s colleagues.’ |
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