News

Securing a health service fit for the future

Eleven financially-challenged health economies in England are to receive expert help with strategic planning in order to secure sustainable quality services for their local patients.

Monitor, NHS England and the NHS Trust Development Authority have agreed to fund a series of projects to help groups of commissioners and providers work together to develop integrated five-year plans that effectively address the particular local challenges they face.

As part of the annual planning round, all NHS organisations are being urged to plan over a five-year period in future as part of a concerted effort to tackle the long-term financial and operational challenges facing the system.

The eleven areas have been chosen on the basis that they will most benefit from external support in the first few weeks of the new financial year, and potential suppliers are now being invited to tender for the work.

Responsibility for delivering strategic plans remains with the individual commissioners and providers. The appointed supplier will act as a critical friend, seeking to bring together all partners in the health economy  and testing whether the organisations are undertaking their long term strategic planning in the most effective way.

Suppliers will be appointed at the end of March and will begin a programme of work lasting around 10 weeks across four workstreams;

  • A diagnosis of supply and demand;
  • Solutions development and options analysis,
  • Plan development;
  • implementation.

NHS England’s Chief Financial Officer Paul Baumann said, “We are investing resources now to help organisations across these health economies to plan effectively. The health economies identified are those where we believe that this immediate support will have the greatest long-term impact, providing significant positive benefits to patients and taxpayers in the future.”

2 comments

  1. Michael Vidal says:

    In North East London the programme is likely to end in failure unless you tackle the underlying cultural issues that have caused the deficits at both Barts Health and BHRT. In my submission on the behalf of Hackney LINk I had said that the Barts Health should not be approved because it was to great a financial risk. This was based on the figures in the Full Business Case. Nothing I have seen since gives me any confidence that my assessment is not still valid and Barts Health remains an unacceptable risk in its current form to the Local Health Economy. I am not one of those that blames all of the problems on the PFI Scheme matters are more fundamental than that and needs a cultural change not more money being thrown at it.

  2. frank mcghee Director of Commissioning says:

    Across Derbyshire and Derby City and the four CCGs we are looking to develop one commissioning plan for children, young people and families. This integrated plan will look ahead over the next five years. It is reflective of our direction of travel. It would be useful to be more closely involved to see if we can assist your projects as well as potential being one for you.