Comment / Support in tough times

This month may be the most important in our country’s history this century with the vote on 23 June on whether we stay in the European Union or not. Not surprisingly, the HFMA has a completely neutral position on EU membership and how you should vote. I’m sure you haven’t come to this page to have me set out the arguments of this increasingly complex decision. The scale of victory by either side will be interesting – a narrow ‘yes’ may embolden ‘no’ enthusiasts to continue to make the argument; a narrow ‘no’ could lead to Europe making us another offer. It’s hard to see where it will all end.

In matters closer to home, the Q4 provider figures for 2015/16 released towards the end of last month and featured elsewhere in this edition make grim reading and make you wonder about whether the NHS will break the departmental expenditure limit. We shall find out soon as the accounts have to be laid before Parliament before MPs’ summer holiday in July.

We will shortly be producing our latest temperature check to review last year and what you think about this year’s challenges. We’ve been meeting other organisations to reflect on what joint policy efforts we can make. It won’t surprise anyone that funding is top on the agenda and the feeling that we are marching south in GDP terms from the heady heights of nearly 9% in the mid-noughties.

Our president’s theme of ‘Step up’ is timely and apposite, encouraging members to seize the opportunities as finance remains front and centre of all the NHS does. To support members, we are once again launching free programmes exclusively for them. These are concerned with the development of skills such as negotiation and personal resilience. There are some national programmes and some that are being run by our colleagues in the branches.

In addition, to help support hard working finance staff out in the field, we are aiming to train 100 new mentors. This will provide participants with the skills to take back into their organisations to help staff who need support and development. There will be two parts to the programme – a day on the basics of how to mentor and what it is all about; and, for those who can afford a little more time, a second day when practical skills can be taught and mentors can have a go, albeit in a theoretical way. Nonetheless, it will be high-quality training provided by industry experts.

To help members understand key issues and get up to speed, there are to be a series of webinars and roundtables. So our ‘Step up’ programme will provide something for everyone in the hope that we can help better equip members for the challenges that arise.

Finally, we will shortly be sending out subscription notices. The HFMA board has decided to allow members to pay by monthly direct debit and this will be introduced this autumn. It’s a little more expensive than a £60 a year one-off direct debit fee as it will be £6 per month and £4 for the abated/student rate. However, we hope it may be more attractive to members who want to space out their payments.