Comment / Points of review

The association continues its drive to develop services in the ‘new world’, conscious that you, the member, have certain expectations going forward.  The HFMA board met last month in Manchester to discuss these issues and reflect upon the post-Francis era in a specially convened policy forum.

I am pleased to tell you that plans to create a dedicated meeting space – 110 Rochester Row in central London – are now well in train. We hope to open the centre in the autumn.  As a member, subject to a fair user policy, you will be able to come and visit the members’ area where there will be a cup of coffee, wifi and somewhere to sit. There will also be meeting rooms for hire and we are now developing plans to sell these out to the business community. 

We have appointed a conference centre manager with significant experience in this field and building work is going ahead apace – although there isn’t much to see at the moment, so you will have to wait for pictures.

The board considered the draft business plan and budget for 2013/14.  There has been a significant expansion of staff, employed to assist the development of our agenda. However, it is important we continue to expand sustainably.  The appointments of a policy and technical director and a marketing and communications director continue with good options for both, and I hope to have some more news in the coming months.  During 2013/14 we will also consider developing a future strategy covering the period 2014-17 – we’ll be asking you about that!

The board also considered three reviews that it wants to establish as a precursor to the strategy.  The first is a review of the role of the branches.  Branches are our lifeblood, but we need to consider how we can develop them so they become a key strategic force locally, not just groups that only run meetings. We want to understand what the centre can do to help more. Also, how can we use social media to help keep everyone in the loop?  I am delighted that we have all the branches signed up to attend a development day in June, when we will kick off a conversation with them.

The second review is into the governance of the organisation and whether it is fit for purpose. We last looked at this seven years ago and, given the changes we’ve been through since then, it is time to look at it again. This will consider issues such as how we use the limited time we have to ensure that we get the very best out of our volunteers. 

The third review will be of our commercial operations. We are indebted to the NHS and our commercial partners for all the help we get. However, we need to review how we market our services and how we organise them within HFMA. Our HCS brand is very successful, but is it needed? And how do we develop our business further so that we can support the excellent efforts of our professional teams?

One thing is clear: personal membership remains at the root of everything we do. We will be coming up with some new proposals to boost that over the coming months. Perhaps you should be asking whether your colleagues are HFMA members too – and whether they should consider joining.