We have recently seen the publication of the 5 Year Forward View, outlining the stark realities of NHS funding against constantly rising demand, and how we need to respond. Levels of awareness about the financial challenges are rising, and there are few organisations that are not thinking about how to make their services the most efficient whilst enabling the best possible outcomes and experience for patients. 'Value Makers' are a dynamic community of around 100 finance professionals working within NHS organisations in England helping us all to begin to respond and address the challenge.
So it's inevitable that you might ask, how? We know that there are examples of excellence across the NHS, and it is part of the role of Value Maker to share these examples so that they can become common practice across the country. This is done through existing geographically based networks, but also nationally and virtually through blogs and tweets, building a sense of engagement to a joint aim rather than individual objectives. The Value Makers are inspiring others in the NHS to rise to the financial challenge of change. We are working closely with the Future Focused Finance team, and their individual workstreams to test outputs, and sharing to ensure that all organisations benefit from this work.
A recent development from the ‘Close Partnering’ workstream is the start of a 'Finance Educator' network which aims to help every NHS organisation get the maximum out of every £1 invested, with the best clinical engagement and financial training. The most effective service delivery creates the best value clinical experience. The ‘Great Place to Work’ workstream is looking into how to build the internal and external reputation of the NHS finance function, attracting and developing the best people.
Several NHS organisations have already taken part in the pilot phase of a Team Assessment process, allowing them to benchmark their organisation to others from across the NHS, and also to the ‘best in class’ non-NHS organisation. Happy staff = happy patients! In 2015 we will grow our Value Maker community, expanding our Finance reach and recruiting from professions across the NHS, including IT, HR, Nursing, Allied Health Professions, and Medicine.
So if you weren't aware of the 'Value Makers' before, and you are interested in finding out more, then look us up on www.futurefocusedfinance.nhs.uk, or just search for #valuemaker on Twitter.