Our client, an NHS mental health trust, had experienced a sharp financial decline, reporting a £9m deficit. Additional cost and income pressures, the latter a consequence of CCGs in financial distress, required a £20m Cost Improvement Programme (a CIP of over 9% of income) to meet its next year control total.
Operationally, the bed base was overspilling into unfunded, high cost, out of trust beds and the management team was managing a complex set of services consisting of 150 teams over two ICS footprints and over 90 sites.
SSG Health (part of the renamed Real World Health) was paired with the Trust’s executive under a National Financial Improvement Programme. It was immediately necessary to manage stakeholder expectations. A £20m cost reduction effort needed a longer lead in time to achieve. The focus was to help the Trust convert its clinical strategy into an active implementation plan that would deliver more care in the community and reduce higher cost inpatient care needs.
This programme entailed a major engagement and workshop effort with staff, identification of project leads and the building of change capability across the Trust. Concurrently, Trust management was supported to increase non-pay savings, to work-up 25% back office reconfiguration savings and to improve flow. Grip over day-to-day spend was also tightened.
As a consequence of this work, the Trust reported a return to financial balance the year after our programme and reduced its in-year deficit to £1m.