14 December 2007
The health service must provide financial management training for doctors, nurses and other clinicians to improve efficiency and patient care, according to the Audit Commission.
The commission said that in the past money was often seen as the preserve of the finance department, but reforms had made this approach redundant.
In its report, A prescription for partnership: engaging clinicians in financial management, published last week, the commission said that closer working between clinical and finance staff would improve planning and costing. The resulting efficiency savings could be reinvested in better patient care, it added.
Finance departments had a vital role to play in getting clinicians involved – by providing training where necessary and by offering accurate, up-to-date data tailored to their needs.
The commission said a programme of clinical involvement had helped turn a £2.7m deficit at King's College Hospital Foundation Trust in 2004/05 to a £4.4m surplus in 2006/07.
Steve Bundred, chief executive of the Audit Commission, said: 'This is about giving power and responsibility to those in the very front line.
'Most NHS money is spent by doctors and other clinical staff. It is they, rather than finance managers, who are best placed to identify how funds can best be used to improve the quality and efficiency of services.
'Where there is an ongoing lack of trust, respect and mutual understanding between clinical and finance staff, decision-making can be poor and progress very slow. But where they do come together, it can transform services'.
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