News / HFMA 2011: Nicholson hails ‘fantastic’ finance function

NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson lavished praise on NHS finance managers, declaring the finance function was ‘one of the most important’ parts of the service.

‘Thanks for the work you’ve done particularly over the last couple of years,’ he told the HFMA annual conference in London.  Highlighting the broader economic context, set out in the chancellor’s autumn statement earlier in the week, he said the current financial constraints should not be mistaken for a ‘blip’.

‘The start you people have made is absolutely fantastic,’ he said. Speaking more generally, the NHS chief officer said that this was a time to support public sector leadership, adding that it was important that the public understood ‘the contribution you are making to the transformation of health services in this country’. But he added that the contribution finance and managers have to make would need to increase as the push for greater quality and productivity continued.

NHS deputy chief executive David Flory underlined the good financial foundations from which the NHS could address the challenges ahead. He said that the quarter 2 figures, due out in December, would continue to show PCTs and SHAs making their planned level of surplus. However he said that there were some ‘alarm bells’ ringing around the aggregate position of trusts.

Mr Flory also revealed that the Q2 report will show around 45% of QIPP savings had been delivered in the first half of the year. He said this represented ‘a lot of good progress’ but said it was time to ‘put the foot on the pedal not to ease off’.