A ‘challenge and support’ approach needed to help Welsh NHS meet its financial obligations
22 February 2012
A ‘challenge and support’ approach should be adopted to help Welsh NHS organisations to secure their long-term financial future, according to a new report from a National Assembly for Wales Committee.
An inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee found that significant efforts were being made to improve financial management within the NHS in Wales, and substantial savings were being made.
But the Committee also found that financial forecasting by some local health boards appeared to be unrealistic and over-ambitious, while others had produced savings targets without identifying a realistic strategy to achieve them.
Committee members have recommended that the Welsh Government requires all health boards to produce a full break-even budget prior to the start of each financial year and that budgets are supported by robust and comprehensive savings plans.
It also recommended a change in the law to allow NHS organisations to make more effective use of funding across financial years.
“The NHS in Wales is going through an unprecedented period of change at this time,” said Darren Millar AM, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.
“Health boards are having to make difficult decisions in balancing high quality standards of care with financial responsibility.
“The Committee is concerned by some of the apparently unrealistic and over-ambitious forecasts that we have seen during the course of our inquiry.
“We urge the Welsh Government to examine such proposals stringently while also allowing some flexibility for health boards to make more effective use of their funding across financial years.”
The report contains 12 recommendations including:
That the Welsh Government requires all health boards to produce a full break-even budget prior to the start of each financial year, and that this budget is supported by a robust and comprehensive savings and workforce plan, which has been appropriately profiled;
That the Welsh Government provides a robust challenge to NHS bodies in the planning and delivery of their financial saving plans, to ensure that there is a focus on achieving sustainable savings throughout the year, rather than non-recurring savings towards the end of each financial year; and,
Where appropriate, that the Welsh Government continues to make brokerage-funding available to local health boards as an interim measure to support year-end flexibility. Brokerage arrangements should be discontinued upon the implementation of a more permanent legislative solution to year-end flexibility.
Link to more information on the Public Accounts Committee.