Council gives green light to plans to save up to £5.4m a year by more sharing functions with health
http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/articles/81088/1/Council-gives-green-light-to-plans-to-save-up-to-A54m-a-year-by-more-sharing-functions-with-health/Page1.html
By Chief Editor
Published on 19 Feb 2010
Herefordshire Council approved business proposals to share more of its central functions with the primary care trust and the county hospital. The cabinet (Thursday 18 February 2010) supported the move, which could save up to £5.4 million a year to be invested in protecting services for the most vulnerable members of the community.
The boards of the primary care trust and the hospital trust are also to consider the proposals during February and March. The aim is to avoid the scale of cuts in public services seen in other parts of the country by sharing central functions and making them more efficient. These administrative savings could then be reinvested in essential health and social care services.
Herefordshire Council, NHS Herefordshire and Hereford Hospitals Trust started work on a business case in April last year and proposals include the three organisations either setting up their own joint venture, or outsourcing many corporate functions to the private sector, or one of the three organisations providing the services for the other two.
Now the cabinet has given the green light, negotiations will continue between the three organisations and a formal report, seeking a formal decision will be presented soon.
Herefordshire’s unique approach to public services partnership, which is increasingly being seen as a model for other local authorities and trusts in the UK, means that many corporate functions and costs can be shared. These comprise information technology, finance, procurement, human resources, payroll and expenses, communications, internal audit, legal, transport, estates, printing and emergency planning across the three organisations.
The move is prompted by the need to protect services to the most vulnerable members of the community, including Herefordshire ageing population, disabled people and children looked after by the local authority. Local government and health will also focus on how together they can manage contracts, purchase goods and services and achieve further economies of scale across the three organisations.
The boards of the primary care trust and the hospital trust are also to consider the proposals during February and March. The aim is to avoid the scale of cuts in public services seen in other parts of the country by sharing central functions and making them more efficient. These administrative savings could then be reinvested in essential health and social care services.
Herefordshire Council, NHS Herefordshire and Hereford Hospitals Trust started work on a business case in April last year and proposals include the three organisations either setting up their own joint venture, or outsourcing many corporate functions to the private sector, or one of the three organisations providing the services for the other two.
Now the cabinet has given the green light, negotiations will continue between the three organisations and a formal report, seeking a formal decision will be presented soon.
Herefordshire’s unique approach to public services partnership, which is increasingly being seen as a model for other local authorities and trusts in the UK, means that many corporate functions and costs can be shared. These comprise information technology, finance, procurement, human resources, payroll and expenses, communications, internal audit, legal, transport, estates, printing and emergency planning across the three organisations.
The move is prompted by the need to protect services to the most vulnerable members of the community, including Herefordshire ageing population, disabled people and children looked after by the local authority. Local government and health will also focus on how together they can manage contracts, purchase goods and services and achieve further economies of scale across the three organisations.