Project Description
It has recently been identified that Mental Health trusts in England have had their funding cut by more than 2% in real terms over the past two years (BBC, December 2013). In view of this and the need to make annual Cost Improvement Plans, the pressure is on Mental Health Trust to scrutinise recurrent spending and make savings wherever possible. JMB Health Consultancy was asked to undertake a review exercise to establish Current additional staffing spend within a large mental health trust in the North West which is currently financed through a zero-budget allocation. The Board were keen to understand the context and rational behind this and explore any potential savings and future efficiencies, and to make recommendations were possible to support moving forward.
Objectively this included an understanding of:
- The context of the overspend and use of 1:1, bank and agency staff (by service)
- The implications of additional staffing in the context of sickness cover, annual leave, compassionate leave and training planning (by service)
- How additional staffing is sourced, authorised, monitored and reviewed in the case of both observation levels and absences (by service)
- The level of accountability in relation to overspends on additional staffing (by service)
Our final report and recommendations highlighted some major cost savings to be realised through realignment of budgets and the introduction of new processes to reduce overspends.
If you would like to hear more about this project and how we can assist your organisation in this area, please feel free to contact us!
