Month: October 2021

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Data warehouse halves financial reporting time

We reduced the time it takes to process essential financial planning templates by 50% and established a data warehouse for financial reporting.

Background

Previously, the financial planning process at Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (MLCSU) involved individual working files for different services. To submit the planning template to NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI), the finance team was required to collate information from 40 different places and then cut this data multiple ways to complete the template. It took two full working weeks of staff time to collate and manipulate the data.

Once the detailed plan was agreed, it had to be uploaded to the ledger for reporting for the full financial year. This required going back to the individual working files and assigning codes based on top-down assumptions. The process used to take approximately 50 hours.

Action

We produced a standard template that automated the coding and categorisation of the costs to support the completion of the NHSEI template and the internal reporting requirements.

We implemented a database and invested resource in developing the reporting. The information was uploaded into a data warehouse, and this allowed it to be easily manipulated and collated to complete NHSEI reporting on time.

As all the data was in one place, it was also easier to create the journals for uploading to the ledger.

Impact

We have streamlined the process for completing the NHSEI planning templates by 50% and invested the time saved in adding value to the data rather than data collection and collation.

The process for uploading the plan to the ledger has also seen efficiencies by reducing the time needed by 75%.  This was driven by having all the data in one place which made it easier to collate, complete the template and identify and resolve discrepancies.

An added benefit of the collated data is support for other decision making processes, which has made the finance team more responsive and allowed them to invest more time in added value activities.

Lyn Tallentire, Deputy Finance Director, MLCSU, said:

“Investing in the data warehouse and this approach has delivered benefits in the planning process itself and further benefits on how we use this data on an ongoing basis.” 

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New capability with leading web publishing system

As well as producing systems such as the remote booking system UBook, the Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (MLCSU) Applications Development team has started to deploy the web content management system Umbraco to manage business partner websites. With its Microsoft underpinnings and state-of-the-art feature set for both developers and content editors, Umbraco has been adopted by dozens of public and private sector organisations as their web publishing platform.

The Applications Development team runs 15 Umbraco websites for clients, with orders for three new Umbraco-based sites – Black Country and West Birmingham Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, the NHS Innovation Agency and the North West Population Health Network – each going into production shortly.

Earlier this month three developers in the team, Paul Warne, Matt Darlington and Martin Parker, received Umbraco certification, making MLCSU a ‘Certified Umbraco Partner’. The team’s Business Manager, Bill Douglas, recently met with Umbraco and reported great potential in the support opportunities that our new partner status can provide.

If you would like to find out more about Umbraco, please contact Bill Douglas at bill.douglas2@nhs.net

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Better efficiency in uploading the financial forecast

We halved the time it takes to load the financial forecast into the ledger and reduced the risk of errors.

Background

The Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (MLCSU) used a manual process to load the financial forecast into the ledger by changing each subjective code line by line. This process was extremely time consuming for the following reasons:

* It was necessary to run multiple reports from the ledger to extract the data to create the forecast journals
* Checks had to be made to ensure the journals had achieved the desired position and we could make corrections if necessary
* The risk of errors was high due to the reports having opposite signs to the journal entry requirements.

Action

The bulk upload template is Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web ADI) and allows for multiple lines (or cost centres) to be amended in one go.

The Forecast Out Turn uploader tool ensures that there are no errors prior to the upload as there are control checks embedded within. The tool also populates the income the correct way so that when a report is downloaded, this is captured and mirrored in the accurate way.

The tool was initially tested, and a procedure note produced so the knowledge could be shared across the team.  Based on experience it was identified this was only effective if you were changing multiple lines (or multiple costs centres) as downloading the Web ADI can take some time.

Impact

Within the first month the tool was implemented there was a 50% efficiency achieved despite the learning curve of implementing.

This approach has also been embedded into month-end processes and is providing ongoing benefits.

“This review of the process allowed us to use technology available to quickly streamline and improve the process.  Driving efficiency allows us to invest time in adding value.”
Lyn Tallentire, Deputy Finance Director, MLCSU

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GP practices sign up for our locum gap app

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Groups have signed up to use NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit’s digital Find me a Locum solution for their GP practices.
They have commissioned it via NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Framework for Digital Solutions for Sessional Clinical Capacity in Primary Care. Being on the framework enables us to easily offer Find me a Locum to clinical commissioning groups across England and help relieve capacity pressures for practices.
We developed Find me a Locum with partner GP Federations – people at the sharp end of general practice. This keeps costs low, delivering great value. Tried and tested, it has already been helping practices to find locums quickly, securely and at low cost, making significant savings on agency fees.
Find me a Locum provides fast, efficient, high quality ‘pairing’ between practice vacancies and locums. It is accessible 24/7 by a website and easily downloadable app.
It facilitates payments by providing tools to practices and locums to manage the invoicing process, end-to-end. Practices retain full control and benefit from support of a dedicated account manager and service desk.
Other benefits for practices include:
• quick and easy digital advertising of slots to a wide audience
• assurance that locums are accredited and registered (with evidence for CQC)
• automatic validation of locums against national performers list and GMC register
• training and awareness-raising to encourage clinical and managerial uptake and ongoing use
• regular system updates and enhancements.
Deputy Director of MLCSU’s Digital Innovation Unit, Priyantha Jayawardane, said: “We are delighted that we will be able to see Find me a Locum helping to relieve capacity pressures for GP practices across Staffordshire.”
For more information, contact mlcsu.commercial@nhs.net or go to www.findmealocum.co.uk

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MLCSU Finance win regional NHS award

We are extremely pleased to announce that we won the Finance Team of the Year award at yesterday’s Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) West Midlands Branch Annual Conference.

This award recognises the contribution that our Finance Team has made in the last twelve months to promoting and improving teamwork, innovation, collaboration, transformation and governance in the NHS finance community.

Tony Matthews, Director of Finance and Commerce at the Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit, said:

“I am delighted that our Finance Team has been recognised by the HFMA and to win such a prestigious award as HFMA West Midlands Finance Team of the Year.

“To have been recognised by the HFMA in the West Midlands in amongst the many other brilliant NHS finance departments and to have been singled out is fabulous and recognition of the hard work and dedication the team displays each and every day for the NHS clients we support.”

In a year with many challenges, the team kept their high spirits and committed dedication to improving their staff, processes, performance and sharing best practice with the wider NHS.

With over 200 delegates at the event, two awards were presented by the West Midlands Branch of HFMA, which promotes the highest standards and innovation in financial management and governance across the UK health economy through its local and national networks. It is a huge honour to be recognised by this award – well done to our colleagues!

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Insight to action: lessons from think tanks

Join us tomorrow, 15 October for the grand finale of the Insight 2021 festival of analysis and learning.

‘Insight to action: lessons from think tanks’ brings together the leaders of the Health Foundation, The King’s Fund, Nuffield Trust and the Strategy Unit for a panel discussion on how to move insight into action for the improvement of health services.

Insight 2021 is an annual festival of free events on learning and sharing for the NHS, local government and other partners across health and care. It is hosted by the Midlands Decision Support Network, in association with the Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit’s Strategy Unit.

The Midlands Decision Support Network exists to support health and care leaders generate insights from high quality analysis and evaluation and move these into action – better, evidence-informed strategic decisions in Integrated Care Systems.

But moving insight to action is challenging – particularly for those without a direct hand on the levers of power, such as think tanks and researchers. How do we ensure that the insights we generate get converted to meaningful change? What needs to be in place in health and care systems in terms of capacity, capability and culture? What can we learn from the experience of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic?

An expert panel of the leaders of the national analytical collaboration of think tanks, which worked to support the health and care system in the fight against COVID-19, explores these questions:

* Dr Jennifer Dixon – Chief Executive, the Health Foundation
* Richard Murray – Chief Executive, The King’s Fund
* Nigel Edwards – Chief Executive, the Nuffield Trust
* Peter Spilsbury – Director, the Strategy Unit

…alongside the Director of the newly formed IMPACT centre for implementing evidence in adult social care.

* Professor Jon Glasby – Professor of Health and Social Care, the University of Birmingham

To register for the event, please search for the Midlands Decision Support Network and scroll down to ‘Upcoming training & events’ .

This year’s festival is running from Monday 4 October until Friday 15 October, and includes a mixture of talks, workshops and panel discussions.

Recordings of all the excellent sessions already taken place, are available from the full programme of events on the Midlands Decision Support Network website.

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Promoting health and wellbeing in the NHS

Following a series of successful wellbeing initiatives at the Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (MLCSU), our Deputy Director of Finance, Lyn Tallentire, was recently asked to speak at a one-day conference on “Workplace wellbeing in the NHS”.

As a health and wellbeing champion at MLCSU, Lyn spoke at the event organised by the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), the professional body for finance staff in healthcare, and Future Focused Finance (FFF), the national programme designed to develop, connect and support the NHS finance community.

Together with Emma Stewart, Head of Finance at MLCSU, Lyn has pioneered several initiatives across our finance team encouraging people to find the time to look after their health and wellbeing.

Both Lyn and Emma have also supported staff within the team with personal challenges including struggling with working from home, offering support to staff with Covid who lived on their own and people with wellbeing challenges. They both proactively share their knowledge and experience with the wider finance community, contributing to motivating staff across organisations to improve NHS finance.

The conference which took place on 7 October brought together leaders in workforce policy as well as a selection of NHS case studies identifying areas of good practice in areas such as health and fitness, diversity and inclusion, mindfulness and building resilience.