Reconfiguration of local health boards leave uncertain future for NHS Wales Shared Services
Twenty-two local health boards will be replaced by seven larger ones from the beginning of October, but the future responsibilities of the NHS Wales’ multi-functional Business Services Centre (BSC) has not been confirmed. Marcus Adams, director of HR and organisational development for the BSC, said: “The future of shared services in Wales is still under discussion nationally.” He added that the 500 staff-organisation faced a challenging future but its HR team had been heavily involved in the disaggregation of health boards. If existing in-house activity across the new boards was expanded, the BSC “will exist but not in the same form and the management arrangement would change”, he said. A decision by the Welsh Assembly Government is expected early next year.
Under the “enormous pressure” to make savings, Adams said the NHS Wales BSC has recently won an award for delivering value for money. It won a Customer Service Excellence Award (formerly Charter Mark) by the Cabinet Office in June. “Within the wider NHS configuration there were potential risks to the future of the BSC, and we wanted to demonstrate the value of our services so that we would be in a really good place for the future. At a time when shared services are being discussed, the achievement of this award has been crucial,” he said.
Adams added it was cost effective to continue the BSC as it is now, and that a possible expansion across other local services would also avoid duplication of services. NHS Wales would not entertain private-sector involvement in shared services like England does, he said. Adams hopes the BSC’s track record on health and well-being will influence the Welsh government’s decision. Along with its clients, the Business Service Centre has introduced new measures to manage occupational stress, such as better training for managers and better use of flexible-working policies, which has significantly reduced absenteeism and turnover, as well as boosting morale, he said.
