The award recognises the contribution that an organisation’s finance team has made in the last twelve months, promoting and improving teamwork, innovation, collaboration, transformation and governance.
The Trust, which runs three hospitals in the region, as well as outpatient services at various community sites, has worked hard to refresh and renew its financial services. In just over three years, the team has supported the delivery of £22 million in cost-savings, with £10.3 million saved last year.
By implementing a series of improvements and new processes, the Trust’s finance team have made it easier than ever for services and departments within the hospitals to track their income, expenditure and overall budgets, while refreshed training and guidance has been put in place to ensure good financial control and performance throughout the organisation.
Jon Sargeant, Director of Finance at the Trust, said: “I am delighted that the finance team has been recognised in this way, this award acknowledges the hard work and significant transformational change they have delivered over the past two years. They have ensured that the Trust is on a stable financial footing, ensuring we make the most of every penny spent to support the delivery of the best possible care for our patients. I am very proud to work alongside them.”
“We understand we still have the opportunity to improve further, but it is great to know that we are heading in the right direction in our journey to sustainability.”
Speaking in a joint statement, Suzy Brain England OBE, Chair of the Board, and Richard Parker OBE, Chief Executive, said: “This award is very well deserved. In a fairly short period of time, the Trust’s finance department have reorganised, adopted new ways of working and, importantly, enforced better financial control and monitoring throughout the organisation.
“In 2016 the team faced significant challenges and have had to work hard to rebuild the credibility of the finance service. It speaks volumes for the skill, dedication and competence of the whole team that we are now well on the road back to financial health and looking ahead to a sustainable future of high quality patient care.”
The finance team at DBTH are now working hard to deliver their savings target for 2018/19 by March 2019.