Feature / Close encounters

Ever wondered how private sector accountants approach the job and whether they could offer fresh insights that could help the NHS finance function? Over the past year a joint HFMA/ACCA initiative has allowed NHS finance managers to discover for themselves.

The shadowing scheme paired interested members with private sector accountants.

Ann Lucas, deputy director of finance at NHS Blackpool Community Health Services, now on secondment as programme management lead at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS?Foundation Trust, spent a day shadowing Andi Lonnen, finance director at advisory service Private Health Partnership.

‘One of the problems for people who work in the NHS is that they don’t always get much exposure to the commercial world. I was attracted to the scheme because it offered me the chance to get that exposure,’ Ms Lucas says.

Though the firm was different, smaller and less complex than a health service organisation, she believes both learned a lot. ‘Andi was pleased that she too was able to learn something from me that added value to her role, so it was a two-way exchange. We shared best practice and ideas about how we take our functions forward,’ says Ms Lucas.

She was keen to discover how the private sector approached efficiency savings. ‘One of the things Andi told me was that every member of staff – from the lowest paid right up to the chief executive – had an objective to find some form of efficiency saving, however small. I liked that idea and it’s something I have brought back to the NHS.'

Career path

Ms Lucas says the initiative gave her the impetus to look for a secondment at the local acute trust to lead on its efficiency programme. ‘Shadowing enhanced my appetite for working in cost saving, turnaround and efficiency and helped me seek out my current role. After the shadowing, I thought: “Here is where I can make a difference”.

‘The learning went beyond me. I shared information with colleagues both in my role at NHS Blackpool and my new role at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.’

Ms Lucas says she would shadow another director in the private sector – and recommends others do too – but would like to spend time in a larger, more complex organisation. She suggests more opportunities should be given to matching NHS accountants with those in the commercial sector.

Andrew Dixon, now Midlands business manager with Community Health Partnerships, took the opportunity to shadow a commercial accountant while assistant finance director with NHS North Staffordshire. He was paired with Francia Herbert, the financial controller of the Bradford Bulls rugby league team.

‘It was enlightening,’ he says. ‘I have worked in the private sector previously, but it was good to revisit and see how they approach decision-making. I was able to bring that back to the PCT. To reach the target surpluses set by SHAs you have to keep on your toes and move quickly, which you can see done effectively in the private sector.’

When he went to Bradford, the season had nearly ended and the Bulls had not done as well as hoped. This was affecting the team’s revenue, and Mr Dixon went straight into a meeting where the club was looking for ideas to boost interest and attendances.

‘They were looking to engage more closely with their community – a clear link with PCTs, which are trying to improve health in their local communities. I put them in touch with Bradford PCT’s public health team and briefed the PCT team on what the Bulls were doing to engage the local community,’ says Mr Dixon.

While the shadowing formed part of his continuing professional development, it was not merely a box-ticking exercise.

‘It is useful to shadow someone from another sector – you should never rest on your laurels or assume how you approach work or manage staff is the best way,’ he says.