Tom Jackson’s blog
The onset of a new school year or football season is often a time when we look to refresh with a renewed sense of positivity and hope. It is also the time in the annual NHS financial calendar when the finances for the current year start to become clearer and planning starts for the new financial year beginning in April 2020.
We are a very large organisation and we spend over £1m per day. As you will be aware, we are continuing to push to improve efficiency throughout the Trust with a wide range of measures and initiatives with a fair degree of success. The way the national financial framework works in this current year means we will need to make further savings if we are to access our fair share of what is called the ‘Provider Sustainability Fund’.
By being more efficient we have been able to reallocate funding to improve the services we deliver and we are continuing to do so. Delivery of financial plans is challenging for many trusts across the country and locally. As well as delivery of in year plans, there is a national expectation that we will develop future plans in a more collaborative way with partners across the Black Country through a national network of Integrated Care Systems. We will be looking forward to continue working with partners to identify any further opportunities for improvement.