The Health Foundation and the Foundation Trust Network (FTN) co-hosted a workshop on 5 August 2014 to tackle the question of whether the NHS can maintain quality in the short to medium term without additional resources.
The event brought together around 25 senior representatives of provider organisations, covering the acute, mental health, community and ambulance sectors. Attendees covered a range of senior roles, including Chairs, Chief Executives, Medical and Nursing Directors, Chief Operating Officers, Directors of Finance and Directors of Strategy. (A full list of the organisations represented at the event can be found in the document).
The workshop used two hypothetical scenarios to help guide a free thinking discussion: a challenged trust and a service user with multiple health and care needs. While these were ‘scenarios’, there was a broad view that many of the challenges we cited in the challenged trust scenario’ rang true for many in the room, across all the sectors represented.
The workshop focused on three main questions:
–– If no ‘new money’ were available, what choices would you need to make to balance the books and how would this impact on quality of care?
–– If ‘new money’ became available, how would this best be spent, both in the short and medium term?
–– What are the external facilitators or barriers which would help or hinder your ability to maintain quality while facing financial pressures?
The sessions were conducted through facilitated group discussions combined with plenary discussions and under the Chatham House rule.
Read the findings in the full report here.
