HFMA 2021: Nicci Briggs is Finance Director of the Year

The top healthcare finance award was announced during the association’s annual awards ceremony in central London last night, where a total of nine industry prizes were made.

Over 2021, Ms Briggs led on a number of fronts, from helping to tackle inequalities in healthcare, to addressing a significant deficit in the local health and care system, and championing diversity and inclusion. Judges were impressed by her work on a new primary care funding model across the CCGs, which helped shift resources to primary care in areas with the greatest need. 

The LLR system has a significant deficit and, despite joining only in September 2020, by February 2021 she had helped thrash out a system financial recovery strategy with system transformation at its heart.

In other awards, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust scored a hat-trick of victories, taking the finance team of the year, governance and the Havelock training awards. 

There were two new awards for 2021 – the Delivering Value with Digital Technologies Award and the Diversity and Inclusion Award. The former, which recognises a project that creates greater value by maximising outcomes at the lowest possible costs, was won by Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group. Their joint project allowed the sharing of data between health and care organisations across the county.

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust took the diversity award for its comprehensive approach to diversity and inclusion in its finance team. The team encourages applications from all groups, and has created apprenticeships and shadowing opportunities.

The full list of award winners is:

Finance Director of the Year

Winner: Nicci Briggs, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Groups

Highly commended: Su Rollason, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Deputy Finance Director of the Year

Winner: Guy Dentith, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Highly commended: Jo Gooch, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

Costing Award

Winner: Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust

Highly commended: Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Groups

Delivering Value with Digital Technologies Award

Winner: Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group

Diversity and Inclusion Award

Winner: Airedale NHS Foundation Trust

Highly commended: Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust

Governance Award

Winner: Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Highly commended: NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership

Highly commended: Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Clinical Commissioning Group

Finance Team of the Year

Winner: Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Highly commended: Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System

Working with Finance – Clinician of the Year

Winner: Matthew Wood, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

Havelock Award

Winner: Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Highly commended: Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Details of the awards can be found here.