Streamlining our health system
One of the key areas that public sector employment is set to evolve in the coming years is in the adoption of new working methods. Instead of simply hiring more people, public sector employers are under pressure to get the most out of current resources to show discipline and financial thriftiness.
The NHS has championed this trend by looking to Toyota’s influence in the area of ‘lean thinking’, where services and processes are streamlined to increase efficiency. The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) conference in Dudley highlighted the need to incorporate this approach.
This streamlined thinking comes into its own when we look at the end of year budgets for the NHS. They’re currently being finalised in order to incorporate 2008 Budget requirements. With the way in which the finances of individual trusts are managed becoming a key measure of success, significant expertise is needed to pull these plans together.
How does this impact employment and recruitment needs? The need for a holistic approach to financial planning has become vital, and so accountants and senior project managers need to come together to combine both operational skills and financial awareness. With that in mind, there’s a growing trend to bring in the expertise of senior managers from the private sector to identify additional areas of concern and skills shortages.
Related links
- Read more about the HFMA conference on our events download page.
- Download the presentation from the HFMA conference directly.
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