Comment / New year resolve

What a 2015 it’s been. The provider deficit shows no sign of getting any better, although we now know what we’re dealing with in 2016/17 and beyond thanks to the spending review. The jury is out on whether the investment will be sufficient to meet the growing demands facing the service. But it is probably about the best results we could have hoped for. One thing is clear: there can be no let-up in the pursuit of greater productivity and new models of care as the NHS seeks to deliver the £22bn efficiencies cited in the Five-year forward view.

It is a difficult position and the HFMA was very restrained in the week of the spending review announcement. The settlement is undeniably good relative to other spending departments and must be seen in that context. But significant challenges remain both in terms of the delivery of sustainable health services and the interaction between health and social care.

With our NHS financial temperature check well established, we will continue to track your views as the new funding starts to flow from April onwards.

In 2015, we have focused on how we are ‘Stronger together’ – HFMA president Sue Lorimer’s theme for 2015/16. Sue has been a fantastic leader this year, ably representing us in all the things she has done. That’s because Sue is a time-served, paid-up member of the NHS finance family – someone who has worked in a variety of organisations and at a high level. Her ability to win people over and her considered manner have inspired me and other staff and, on behalf of the membership, I’d like to thank her.

I’m writing this ahead of our annual conference and at our annual general meeting, held during the conference, we will install the 66th president of the HFMA, Shahana Khan. I’ve known Shahana for years and in various roles in the West Midlands, culminating in her current post of director of finance and performance at George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust.

Shahana is well respected and comes to us with an energy and drive to encourage members to make the best of themselves. Her message is simple and many of us will relate to it. Her theme will attempt to bring the balance back into the system and focus on the financial sustainability of organisations. To do this we must play our part in how we move forward.

Over the course of the next year the HFMA faces some key challenges. We want to develop a new membership strategy to make it easier to attract members. We want to launch our certificate and diploma programme with our partners at BPP. And our policy and research programme continues with the development of an active media and research campaign.

Our most important objective is to listen to our members so we can represent you in the very best way. But you need to keep speaking to us and supporting the association in all we do. Together we can take forward this organisation and achieve what it says on our coat of arms: ‘the greatest wealth is health’. Have a happy new year.