November 2023 - update

Please see below for the most recent information from HFMA, One NHS Finance and the Skills Development Network

SDN Events

National Finance Academy

Please click here to view the National Finance Academy Newsletter

HFMA

Please click here to view the latest weekly HFMA news

We are delighted to announce the launch of the new HFMA website. Get started now!

Our new website has been designed with members’ feedback in mind and will provide you with an enhanced and personalised experience.

Just a few key points about what you can expect from the new website:

Improved user experience – with a fresher look and feel, it makes navigating around the site easy. Whether you’re looking for an event, professional development opportunities, guidance or to catch up on the latest news in the world of healthcare finance, you can find what you’re looking for easily and quickly.

Personalised myHFMA member area – you can take control of your membership and ‘self-serve’ using your member area. This includes updating all details, accessing CPD tracking, viewing event registrations, online learning and awards.

Enhanced reading experience – over time you will see more briefings that are displayed to read on the webpage, as well as allowing the PDF download option. Accessibility is at the forefront of the website’s design, ensuring screen content meets colour and screen reading accessibility standards.

One NHS Finance

Events

View details of all One NHS Finance events. Book online today!

Events

Development Programmes

If your career needs a boost, check out our development programmes. Whatever your role in NHS finance, we can help you achieve more.

Programmes

You can view details of all development programmes below:

If you have any feedback on training courses you have attended, we can share slides and any information you received on the course.

This would be a huge benefit to colleagues across the department who may be looking at doing similar courses.

Hello

Most of you know me by now but for those who don’t – my name is Lee Gough, and I am the regional Value Maker Lead for Cheshire and Merseyside.

My role involves meeting with 34 other regional leads across different trusts within Cheshire and Merseyside. We meet virtually over Microsoft teams every quarter to discuss ideas and best practices.
This is fed back to Gayle Wells who is the main lead for Cheshire and Merseyside.

Being a value maker gives you a chance to network and meet other colleagues across various NHS Trusts and attend various events throughout the year. At the end of the year around September our Annual Value Maker Awards opens for to welcome nominations with the award ceremony commencing around November time. This year our annual award ceremony takes place in London on the 24 November.  

You may be asking what is a Value Maker?  
A Value Maker is committed to making a difference. You don’t have to work in finance or commit to taking on additional work. We simply want to harness the power of a group of enthusiastic people to bring about positive change.
Here is a link to our Value Maker video What is the Value Maker network?

Why not join today and feel the benefits of being part of a diverse group of members bringing best practice across different trusts.
Value Maker Application form

When you have successfully joined, I will then be notified.

On top of being a regional Value Maker Support Lead – I am also involved in ED&I by being the Ambassador for Mersey Care Finance, Finance and Clinical Educator (Level 3) and most recently became an Accreditation Assessor for One NHS Finance.  

Self Service Platform

The new Finance & Procurement self-service platform has now been launched. Trust wide comms are being issued, but I would be grateful if you could let people know about it when you have the opportunity please.

The link above takes you this screen.  Click on the Finance and Procurement Enquiries tab.

It will take you the Finance & Performance enquiries page. A copy of the user guide is here to help you use the service.

The self service portal should be the first choice for any queries, but the new phone line is also available on 01925 972 767

Thanks

Chris Powell

Strategic Head of Financial Services  (Procurement)

Drive Cleanse

As you may be aware we have commenced a piece work to cleanse and migrate all the Finance and Procurement folders to the G drive in a standardised format.

Leads from each function are working on the format of the folder from Level 1 to level 4.

• Phase 1 was to move the old NWBH folders to an archive folder on the G drive – this was completed in September
• Phase 2 is to move the old LCH folders in a similar way to an archive folder on the G drive – this is due to be completed by the end of October.
• The 3rd and most complex stage is to migrate all live/current folders from the S drive to the G drive, with older folders being saved to archive folders in the same way as phase 1 and 2.

I really do want to stress that no files or folders will be deleted.

Although a lot more information will be shared in the coming weeks, you may wish to take this opportunity to start to cleanse local/personal folders to team folders to aid the mapping process.

Please also be reminded that the F drive is for personal files.

Please let me know of any significant issues or concerns that you may have, but please be assured that all timescales will be shared once agreed.

Thanks

Tasha

Natasha Lee

Community Care Division Strategic Business Accountant

DTL

DTL - Home (sharepoint.com)

The Definitive Team List (DTL) is our single, centrally managed and cleansed list of teams with a unique code (cost code) and agreed service naming conventions.

Our various Trust systems have been aligned/mapped to the DTL. We now have the ability to pull data from systems which will help managers to have a full and consistent overview of their teams and services.

The DTL holds information which aligns teams in accordance with the internal operational hierarchy but in addition, maps the teams to service lines, CQC mappings etc. to allow all reporting requirements to be met.

This list is now being used extensively across the Trust and is becoming an integral part of departmental system changes and processes. The published teams/service charts on YourSpace are a pictorial representation of the operational hierarchy stored in the Definitive Team List and across our systems.

Any desired changes to these charts, from simple team name changes, the establishment of new teams, the amalgamation of existing teams through to complex organisational re structures, must be requested via the Definitive Team List change process which has been introduced to make sure that all systems remain aligned to the DTL and internal organisational hierarchy.

The change request form can be found in the same location on YourSpace together with the standard operating procedure.

The DTL Change Process

Anybody in the Trust can complete a Change Request Form.

Change requests will be overseen by our finance business partners who will work with the other corporate functions to make sure the request is acceptable and workable.

Final approval changes will be shared with cross Divisional Strategic Operational Group (monthly).

Corporate changes will be signed off by the relevant heads of corporate departments. The Corporate Coordination Group will be the forum for any discussions relating to the corporate hierarchies and structures.

Any other queries relating to the DTL should be directed to the dedicated DefinitiveTeamList mailbox or by chatting with the Finance Business Partner for your Division.

NB: The process is not used for the following:

• Staff moves or changes in bases
• Clinical system changes involving (e.g. EMIS, RIO, PACIS, IAPTUS).

By accessing the DTL Sharepoint page, you can view the DTL and access the change forms.

This process is also used for setting up new teams.

Once a form has been completed, it then needs to go through a series of processes before it can be marked as complete.

1. The form is completed
2. It then gets checked in Finance by the SBA for each division
3. If new SBS details are required (cost centres or new Levels 4, 5 or 6) the forms is reviewed by Nick Moon to see what needs to be set up
4. Approval from the Strategic Lead for each division (or budget holder for Trust Wide Support Services)
5. A final check is done by the DTL Administrator (Alison Roebuck) to check all fields are correctly filled in.
6. Form is marked as completed. This generates a notification email to all systems to let them know that there is a change to be made. This is then actioned across all Trustwide systems.

To avoid delays, it would be really helpful if the approval from Strategic Lead could be obtained and forwarded to definitiveteamlist@merseycare.nhs.uk ahead of the form being completed. There are often delays with getting this approval once the form has been completed which can then impact on the timing with month end.

Hello and welcome to our November edition of the Finance ED&I (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) Blog.

This month we celebrate a variety of diverse events. If you wish to learn anything about these events, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Diwali - What is Diwali? - BBC Bitesize
Islamophobia month - islamophobia-awareness.org
Lung Cancer Awareness - Lung Cancer Awareness Month (macmillan.org.uk)
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness - Pancreatic cancer awareness month (macmillan.org.uk)

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador

Why I became an ED&I Ambassador – Lee

“ I was approached by our lovely Gayle Wells a few years ago.  I was already being proactive in ED&I meetings and raising awareness but not officially for the Trust. 

When Gayle approached and mentioned this network of like-minded colleagues across different Trusts with the same passion and same goal. I thought “Why not” I saw the opportunity that someone took a moment to see me as a colleague with passion and heart and the drive to raise awareness.

I hope to inspire others to speak up with regards to their needs and be honest about their goals and challenges.

Over the next 12 months, I hope to create a culture where people feel valued, respected and empowered; a workplace where we are encouraged to be curious about different perspectives, approaches and possibilities; an environment where we can connect, share ideas, be honest and be kind.

I feel we have a brilliant team within Mersey Care Finance and I have every faith that, in the right direction, even the smallest of steps we take can be significant.”
 

If you want to be involved with the blogs, or what you want to see within the blogs please do not hesitate to contact your Finance ED&I Ambassadors Lee.Gough@merseycare.nhs.uk and Anisa.Razzaque@merseycare.nhs.uk

UK Disability History Month

UK Disability History Month 2023 16 November to 16 December 2023. Disability, Children and Youth This Autumn 2023 UKDHM focusses on the Experience of Disablement amongst children and young people in the past, now and what is needed for the future.

International Men’s Day

On 19 November, International Men’s Day celebrates worldwide the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities. We highlight positive role models and raise awareness of men’s well-being. Our theme for 2023 is “Zero Male Suicide”. Together we can stop male suicide.

• 5219 suicides were registered in 2021*. This is 307 more than in 2020.
• The overall suicide rate was 10.5 per 100,000**, compared to 10.0 per 100,000** in 2020, and 10.8 per 100,000** in 2019.
• The male suicide rate was 15.8 per 100,000**, compared to a female suicide rate of 5.5 per 100,000**.
• Males aged 50-54 were found to have the highest suicide rate (22.5 per 100,000).
• There is regional variation in the suicide rates. The North-east of England once again had the highest suicide rate (14.1. per 100,000**), with the North-West of England seeing a significant increase in suicide rate in 2021 (12.9 per 100,000**), compared to 2020 (10.1 per 100,000**).

If you ever feel low or in a state of emergency, please reach out and speak to someone.

Help is available
Difficult thoughts  call 116-123
Emergency crisis  call 999

One NHS Finance

Since the launch of the NHS Finance Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan in November 2021, a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication to making positive improvements for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) across NHS finance has taken place and been delivered by the finance community. Both national and regional networks have been established and have grown into action-focused and initiative-led groups, made up of individuals who are passionate about making NHS finance a great place to work for everyone.

The NHS Finance function is made up of a diverse community of people spanning different backgrounds, age groups, levels of experience, and skill sets. However, as evidenced within the 2019 NHS Finance Census, this diversity is not reflective at finance leadership level, in particular for women and ethnic minority groups.

62% of our workforce are female, however only 29% of finance director positions are held by women.

25% of our workforce are black, Asian, or minority ethnic, but colleagues from those groups hold only 8% of finance director positions.

Currently, we do not have enough data on LGBTQ+ staff, or staff with disabilities to identify the areas in which targeted action needs to be delivered, and we are unable to accurately measure any progress made in terms of representation of these groups at senior levels.

This link takes you to a table which relates to last years census (2022) and currently (2023) is being populated and an update will be provided over next few weeks.

What the data measures?

The data measures staff across the North West region by measuring ethnicity and sex across different banding levels.

It's New Ways November!

Try something new this month

Here is a list of activities you can try in the month of November – some may be out of your comfort zone but why not give them a try

• Walk your very own Alpaca - Woodland Alpaca Farm in Cheshire (woodlandsalpacafarm.com)
• Go karting - Go Karting Warrington | #1 For Indoor Karting | TeamSport (team-sport.co.uk)
• Escape a breakout room - Live Escape Room Game - Breakout Liverpool
• Comedy club - Hot Water Comedy Club | Liverpool's Funniest Comedy Clubs
• Autumn nature walk - Worthington Lakes (wigan.gov.uk)
• Art Gallery - Manchester Art Gallery
• The Crystal Maze Live Experience - The Crystal Maze Manchester - The LIVE Experience (the-crystal-maze.com)

Wellbeing Events Calendar – November 2023

2 November is National Stress Awareness day. This was set up by the International Stress Management Association, with the mission of raising awareness of the effects of psychological distress in the workplace and strategies to address it. Health and wellbeing - Mental Health UK (mentalhealth-uk.org)

Most people feel stressed sometimes and some people find stress helpful or even motivating. But if stress is affecting your life, there are things you can try that may help. Lots of resources are available to provide advice and support to help manage stress.

Men’s health

November is Men’s Health Awareness Month and #Movember. The campaign highlights preventable health issues and encourages men to get professional advice for health-related problems. Occupational Health and Wellbeing Services want to facilitate a discussion and want men to get in touch and share your suggestions with the wellbeing team  as to how we can better support men's health.

Remember, remember the 5^th of November

Top tips for staying safe this bonfire night

Firework and Sparkler Safety | Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (merseyfire.gov.uk)

Get free, impartial advice on benefits, debt, energy bills and much more

Occupational Health and Wellbeing Services has continued to invest in its award winning partnership with Citizens Advice. This is an opportunity to access free, impartial and confidential appointments to discuss a range of different issues that may be impacting on your wellbeing. This includes finance issues, housing, employment, relationships and families. Accessing the referral pathway means you will be seen faster than visiting your local branch. Watch the welcome video here  and visit the Citizens Advice YourSpace page for all the details.

Manage Your Mood and Build a Rewarding Lifestyle – starts 14 November

These psychoeducational groups are facilitated by qualified Cognitive Behavioural Therapists and are designed to provide you with a better understanding of your mental health and alternative ways of coping to improve your overall wellbeing. The group runs for 5 consecutive weeks from 14 November. To find out more and to express your interest, visit YourSpace

Health and Wellbeing Centre is available 24/7

Our Health and Wellbeing Centre at Hollins Park is free for you to access 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There’s a good selection of cardiovascular and fixed resistance machines, plus a variety of free weights to use. Find out more on YourSpace

Cycle to Work Scheme

If you travel to work by bike, take a look at the cycle to work scheme on offer through Vivup. It allows you to buy and spread the cost of new bikes and accessories at a discounted rate.

The scheme is open all year round. Further details can be found on YourSpace.

Save on bus travel

Arriva and Mersey Care have joined together to offer employees savings on local Arriva bus travel. The travel club is open to everybody who works for the Trust. You could save up to 25%. There’s no minimum contract so you can leave whenever you want. Find out all the details on YourSpace and see a printer-friendly poster here.

Please view this Fraud Newsflash alerting staff to a current threat.  We have been made aware by several NHS organisations that members of Finance / Accounts Payable teams have been receiving “phishing” emails using the names of actual Directors, Executives and CEOs. The emails include subject headers such as ‘Urgent Account’ and ‘Action Required’, asking for prompt payment of an “overdue invoice” to be made “as soon as possible” 

Please can this be issued to all staff urgently.

Kind regards

Claire Smallman
Senior Anti-Fraud Manager (Investigations)
Tel: 07769304145

MIAA have shared some information relating to recent fraud cases. Visit our counter fraud page for more information.

MIAA Fraud Spotlight on Fake Medicines Sold Online

Mersey Internal Audit Agency has published an article Fraud Spotlight highlighting some of the concerns around people buying medicines online. It is important for people to be aware of the risks and dangers, and in turn to spread the word to raise awareness and help to prevent more people falling victim. Protect yourself and your family, always be sure you can trust who you’re dealing with online, know what you’re buying, and that it is safe for you to use.

Find out more in the attached document.

MIAA Recent Fraud Cases Article

Mersey Internal Audit Agency has published its latest article highlighting some recent successful NHS fraud prosecution cases.  The cases featured in this article include a jailed fraudster who used fake prescriptions to get £40,000 of drugs and a Nurse convicted of fraud after earning almost £9,000 for shifts she didn’t work.  The Trust is committed to pursuing all available sanctions and redress against those found to have committed fraud against it, including criminal prosecution, disciplinary action, regulatory body sanction (where applicable) and financial recovery of monies lost. 

Find out more in the attached document.

To report fraud, bribery or corruption, contact claire.smallman@miaa.nhs.uk, the national Fraud and Corruption Reporting Line on 0800 028 4060 or visit their website.

Monthly Fraud Update – October 2023

We received 9 fraud notices from MIAA relating to October.

These are summarised by following this link to the document.

Recent exam success…

• Lydia Arnold from the Costing Team recently passed her financial reporting exam within her ACCA training.
• Laura Jessop, our new starter in Secure Care divisions has recently passed her L4 AAT.

On Sunday 22 October we represented Mersey Care in the NHS Games 5-a-side tournament. It was a great day, and a fantastic venue. We ended up coming third overall after being knocked in the semis by the LHCH Theatres team.

This was the final event of the 2023 schedule so a brilliant finish! Well Done!

Thank you to everyone who played, including Nathan Hill, Liam Daley, and Matty Anderton from our Finance & Procurement team.

Thanks,

Dan Hughes

Ideas for Team Challenge

We’re looking for ideas for team challenge event to raise sponsor money for the Mersey Care charity or a charity of choice. How about doing a 100k bike ride or a walk up Snowdon?

Any ideas are welcome. Please email Alison Roebuck or Sally Proffitt with any suggestions.

Abseil for The Mersey Care Charity 2024

Next year’s Liverpool Cathedral Abseil for The Mersey Care Charity have been confirmed for 7 September 2024. There is a £30 registration fee, and only 20 places available! Find out more, or book your place, on Mersey Cares website.

Finance team event.

With January always being solemn following the highs of Christmas, we are hoping to organise a fun team event to the Crystal Maze in Manchester – due to the likelihood of poor weather it is an indoor event!

The weekends under consideration are 21/ 22 or 27/ 28 January 2024 so if you fancy it, keep these dates free for a fun team trip!

If you'd like to be included in the numbers please contact Emily Owen, Carol Smith or Alison Roebuck.

HealthCare Academy

Our Organisational Effectiveness and Learning (OE&L) team organised Mersey Care’s very first Trustwide Health Care Academy during the week of 16 October. 

This was led by Karen Elliott (Talent for Care Widening Participation Lead) and Cheryl Gilland (Work based Learning Coordinator) to which they invited Mersey Care Finance to conduct a session about NHS Finance.

Both Hannah Meehan and I (Lee Gough) both attended on behalf of the finance team on Wednesday 18 October at Kensington Neighbourhood Health Centre based in Liverpool.

The session was aimed at 13 students from Liverpool Life Sciences UTC (17-18 Year olds)

We were both panicking prior to the session if we had enough material to go through that would last the duration of the session at 1 hour and 30 minutes. Good news is we had gone over by 10 minutes but bad news for the students, as we could tell they were eager to get home for the day.

We didn’t have enough time to go through some elements in more detail. The students were really engaging and asked really good questions relating to the services within Financial Services and Financial Management.

We both enjoyed the session and hopefully will be asked back to the next events organised by Karen and Cheryl.

New Starters:

A warm welcome to Laura Jessop who is starting with us on 1 November 2023 in Secure Care division in Financial Management.

Hi my name is Laura Jessop and I start as a Senior Finance Analyst for the Secure Care Division on the 1 November 2023.

I started in the NHS in 2018 as an apprentice at Alder Hey straight after finishing my A-Levels. I then secured an Assistant Management Accountant role for the Community & Mental Health division right before the pandemic which was a huge challenge.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending as much time as possible with my family. This mostly involves running around after my 4 year old daughter in parks and play centres.

I am looking forward to working with you all and getting to know everyone.

We also welcome Tony Mee who is due to start with us on 14 November 2023 in Childrens and Young People Services in Community Care division in Financial Management.

Hi Everyone

I’m Tony and I’m due to join the Community Care team as a Senior Finance Analyst for CYP, Families and Sefton Place.  I have been in the NHS for just over 7 years now where I qualified in AAT and ACCA.  I have previously worked at Cheshire and Mersey ICB (when it was Cheshire CCG) and Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals.

In my spare time I like to watch and play sports.  Football and boxing are my favourites and I play Hockey for my local team (not very well).  I like to try and keep fit in my garage gym (which I set up in the pandemic) and I also like to socialise with friends/family.  I also like to read about military history and watch many documentaries on this. 

I also like to travel and have been lucky enough in my life to visit many countries around the world.  One of my favourites was Argentina. One of my favourite cities to visit is New York and I have been many times.  I would recommend Christmas time but take your warmest coat as its freezing!

I’m looking forward to meeting everyone very soon.

Tony

Another welcome to Isabella Murphy who started with us in Patients Cash in Financial Services at the end of October. 

My name is Isabella but I go by Izzy, I am 18 and brand new to the patient cash role.

I’ve recently left sixth form after sitting my a-levels and moved straight on to Merseycare looking for a career in the NHS.

I’m classed as a social butterfly and enjoy going out with friends especially to festivals and concerts.

I look forward to meeting and getting to know you all!

Current Staff – get to know us!

Hi, I’m Alison and joined Merseycare in June 2022 in the Income, Planning, Reporting, Improvement and Systems Team. I’ve worked in NHS Finance for just over 20 years including working in NWBH and GMMH, and before that worked in the Insolvency Service and at Auto Trader.

I’m mum to Ruby who is 18 in November and Bobby is our black cat who is currently on a diet...

I took a few months out at the end of 1999 to go travelling with 5 friends from school and also Simon who was friend of a friend. We went to Fiji for a couple of weeks then bought a van and did a full-on road trip around all of New Zealand and we were in one of the first cities to see in the year 2000 - although I fell asleep and missed it! Then we set off to Australia where we backpacked, picked raspberries and generally had an amazing time! That’s where Simon and I got together and we’ve been together ever since!

Hobbies for a 40-something – gardening, travelling, reading, watching films and I really like wallpapering! I like a variety of music but generally flick between Planet Rock and Smooth Country depending on my mood!

Random information - I can play the organ, I’ve got two false teeth (they were baby teeth that didn’t come out and looked funny because they were so small!) and I only cry when it’s absolutely necessary. I like pineapple on pizza and can make one of my eyes move on its own.

Happy Birthday to everyone who has a birthday coming up in the next couple of months!

November

2          Peter Ryan

13        Beverley Connell

December

7          Emily Owen

14        Amy Zhang and Holly Garster

16        Alison Roebuck and Dylan Ashton

17        Karl Lee (60)

21        Holly Nichols and Diane Maines

27        Nathan Hill

29        Sarah Price (30)

PACE

You have until 31 December 2023 (for the window period April 2023 to December 2023) to have your appraisal with your reviewer.

It’s a really important time to discuss how the last 12 months have been, set objectives for the next 12 months and agree any career or personal development plans you may have. You can also get the chance to contribute to the way your team and service works.

If you’re new to the Trust, you can book onto a PACE 365 training session on section 3 of the Prospectus.

See the image below that shows the compliance rates for each division.

For further support, email paceandsupervision@merseycare.nhs.uk.

Find out more about PACE 365 on YourSpace.

NHS Staff Survey – staff voices matter

Ready this blog by John Drew, Director of Staff Experience and Engagement at NHS England, explaining the power of the NHS Staff Survey and why each voice of our NHS people matters. Complete the survey in the email from NHSSTAFFSURVEY@iqvia.com.