News / RPA team scoops Northern Ireland accolade

The HPSS Review of Public Administration (RPA) Business Systems Team has been awarded the Fred Armstrong Achievement Award by the HFMA Northern Ireland branch. The award, in its second year, recognises high achievement in financial management in Northern Ireland’s health and personal social services. It is named after Fred Armstrong, a highly respected health finance manager who died in February 2004 following 28 years in the service.

The winning team, led by project manager John Bustard from Southern Health and Social Care Trust, oversaw the key IT issues relating to last year’s merger of 18 trusts into five new organisations as part of the RPA. This involved specific actions across a range of applications. However, a particular success was the preparation of a new general ledger for each of the five trusts using a template based on agreed requirements. The team also led a major initiative to ensure common coding across the organisations.

While there were a number of high quality entries for the award, judges particularly praised the way the RPA team brought people together from all Northern Ireland’s trusts to achieve a common goal, clearly showing the benefits of collaboration. Martin Dillon, finance director of Southern Health and Social Care Trust, who nominated the team for the award, described the work as ‘regionally important’ and said it deserved the highest commendation. ‘The successful conclusion of the project provides an excellent foundation for the financial management of the new HSC trusts, with potential for supporting future changes to HSC bodies,’ he said.

Former HFMA Northern Ireland branch chair Cathy McKillop said she had been delighted to have the opportunity to present the award for the past two years. ‘The Fred Armstrong Award provides an opportunity to recognise the hard work and dedication of all our finance colleagues and to showcase how we have modernised service provision,’ she added.


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