The NHS: helping to reduce its deficit by modifying its systems

The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust incurred a large deficit in financial year 2005/06. Though a number of weaknesses were already being addressed, the interim FD, Andy Morris, also wanted to review the processes by which the Trust prepares its management information and exerts financial control. The Audit Commission’s report in July 2006 on the NHS (“Learning the lessons from financial failure in the NHS”) had identified this as one of the five areas of weakness in the NHS.

FD Solutions was appointed to report on ways in which to improve the processes. Our assignment ran for 16 days. We interviewed people involved in the accounting function, documented the current procedures and set out our recommendations for improvement. This included the sales ledger and income, purchase ledger and control accounts.

Andy was aware that this was our first engagement with the NHS and saw it as an advantage. “I was looking for someone who could bring ideas into the organisation that represented best practice elsewhere. The NHS is becoming commercially aware and now needs processes that match this. FD Solutions have a huge amount of experience in this field in commercial and not-for-profit organisations and this was reflected in their recommendations which were practical and extremely beneficial.”

We were delighted to assist on this project and are poised to undertake similar work elsewhere in the NHS when required.