Finance development strategy launched

One NHS Finance (ONF) was also formally launched today. Through the One NHS Finance (ONF) conversations held over the last year, the finance function in England has co-created the five-year strategy, which is underpinned by six values. These are that NHS finance will be fair, patient-focused, collaborative, innovative, inclusive, and accountable.

The strategy, NHS finance function development strategy: 2021-2026, said its aims will be delivered through three programmes:

• The National Finance Academy – to develop finance staff
• Future-Focused Finance (FFF) – to develop the finance community
• The Finance Innovation Forum – to develop systems and processes

Mr Kelly (pictured), who also chairs the NHS Finance Leadership Council, said when he became CFO more than two years ago, he thought there must be something more that could be done to make finance jobs better, and to help finance staff support frontline clinicians and other managers to do the best for patients.

‘Through the finance academy and through the regional forums, how can we provide the best learning and development for NHS finance staff, and the best finance training without reinventing the wheel?’ he asked.

‘How can we build an NHS finance community that encourages people to apply to do great careers, and shares great practice so we can do the best by patients and taxpayers? How can we learn about the incredible work and innovation that is done across the NHS about how we can do finance better? How can we get better value from every pound that we spend?’

He encouraged finance staff to read the strategy and continue to give feedback on the plan.

‘This is very much the start of a journey as we seek to build on what has gone before, and develop a great NHS finance community where we get the best out of our staff, where we help you to do your job to the very best that you possibly can, and we encourage other great people to join us.’

Introducing the strategy, Peter Ridley, NHS England and NHS Improvement deputy chief financial officer – operational finance, urged finance staff at all levels to get involved. He set out the nine achievements that would make the strategy a success (pictured), including all staff feeling valued and respected, and empowered to succeed, equitable access to development opportunities; diversity in finance departments; and a key role for finance in embedding environmental sustainability.

Later, he added that taking forward the strategy would be a key part of system finance leads’ wider role.

The responsible officers for the three programmes outlined their work and each launched new support and development measures.

Simon Worthington, who chairs the FFF programme, said it had already acted on some of the feedback during the ONF conversation with the finance function. For example, staff wanted hybrid working, so a hybrid working resource pack, including four webinars, has been developed to support new ways of working and returning to the office. Staff wanted more support for health and wellbeing, so FFF has created a programme to train staff as health and wellbeing champions.

As well as launching the hybrid working resource, Mr Worthington also highlighted new support for staff going through organisational changes, which includes programmes aimed at those in clinical commissioning groups, and a finance engagement pack.

He also urged finance staff to get involved, to reinforce the grassroots strengths of the ONF programme. ‘Sign up to be positive and join one of our networks,’ he added.

Finance Innovation Forum (FIF) chair Jenny Ehrhardt said the ONF conversation included a lot of feedback about the importance of innovation. ‘Some of this was about improving the systems and processes we already have, but some was about taking a leap forward. I want FIF to do both. It’s an opportunity to think about the problems we have solved, those we still have, and whether someone else has solved the issue.’

She launched a national innovation programme, which will allow finance staff to submit their innovations for peer review. Innovations can be accredited once reviewed.

There is also a new event series on ‘Software skills for finance staff’. An ‘art of the possible’ briefing has been published, explaining artificial intelligence and blockchain, and an automation group is being established to examine the national returns process and reduce the manual time taken to complete.

‘This is a stretching aim, but I hope that in the next 12 months we will receive something from every NHS organisation for peer review,’ she said.

National Finance Academy chair Hardev Virdee sought to dispel any negativity towards the academy. ‘The question I get asked the most is, “What’s different about this time? We’ve been through so many initiatives in NHS finance, what’s going to make this one stick?”’

The first thing that convinced him this initiative was different was the willingness of so many frontline finance staff to give their views – around 3,000 took place in the ONF conversations – and take ownership of the issues.

Mr Virdee added that the academy would be a one-stop shop for qualifications, helping finance staff at every level navigate their way to the right courses. He relaunched the national finance talent pool, and a new national finance curriculum, which includes finance and addressing health inequalities.

He also previewed further developments, including a new national diversity strategy and action plan, to be launched in November; an online job swap and secondment platform that will arrive in the winter; a return to work development programme to be launched next year that will help people return to the finance function; and programmes for finance directors or CFOs that are newly in post, which is due to begin next summer.

Panel picture: (from left to right) Jenny Ehrhardt, Hardev Virdee, Simon Worthington, Peter Ridley