HFMA 2019: Geoghegan takes finance director prize

The chief financial officer at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust took the award for her leadership and professionalism over a number of years as she helped turn around both trusts. 

Ms Geoghegan (centre) joined the Western Sussex trust in 2014 and quickly set about delivering a sustainable financial position. The trust has recorded recurrent efficiencies of 4% a year over five years and a new capital prioritisation system, which balances financial discipline and operational pressures, has been introduced. 

In 2018/19, the trust achieved its largest ever control total surplus of £28.5m and, using this surplus, the trust is now investing in its clinical estate plan.

She added the CFO role at Brighton and Sussex trust to her existing duties in 2017 and has helped turn around a £69m deficit – breaking even, moving the trust out of financial special measures and attracting capital funding.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Groups took the Finance Team of the Year Award. With the introduction of a single executive team, the challenge to the finance department was to work as one unit, despite being located up to 60 miles apart.

To overcome this issue, the finance team took a number of steps, including changing governance arrangements, developing staff and appointing finance leads with partnership-wide responsibilities.

The full list of winners is:

Finance Director of the Year

Karen Geoghegan, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Deputy Finance Director of the Year 

Eva Horgan, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

Finance Team of the Year 

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Groups

Working with Finance, Clinician of the Year 

Maggie Davies, Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Costing Award 

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Havelock Training Award 

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Governance Award 

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust, Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group and Surrey Downs Clinical Commissioning Group

Value and Innovation Award 

Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership in partnership with MIAA (Mersey Internal Audit Agency)