Daily Insight: Change of plan

Back in 2020, HSJ reported NHS England was exploring a merger of the health service’s workforce and finance systems. Doing so would bring the NHS into line with major private sector firms that integrate the two but was undoubtedly an ambitious goal for the NHS, which is made up of hundreds of different organisations.

It’s fair to say there was some scepticism it could be achieved.

This week, a contract notice revealed the health service is looking to update the existing workforce system, known as the electronic staff record… without adding in the finance and procurement functions.

The software is used to – among other things – make payments every month to the NHS’s 1.8 million staff. The £1.7bn contract notice, which runs for 10 years from 2025 with an option to extend for another five, suggests plans for one finance and HR mega-system have been punted into the long grass.

Culture at Colindale

The Care Quality Commission is currently preparing a report on the leadership of NHS Blood and Transplant, after receiving serious allegations about bullying and racial discrimination within the authority.

Chief executive Betsy Bassis has resigned in the wake of the CQC inspection, while internal tensions have recently burst into the public domain due to an employment tribunal for a former staff member.

The underlying issues within NHSBT appear to be long-standing and deeply entrenched, and HSJ has now seen evidence that serious problems were evident at the organisation’s Colindale site in north London in 2016, four years before a subsequent report found similar issues.

Given the damning findings of the subsequent report, in 2020, which found a “toxic environment”, multiple accounts of bullying, and “systemic racism” at Colindale, it raises questions around the actions taken by NHSBT’s former leaders, including current CQC boss Ian Trenholm, to address the issues raised in 2016.

Asked about the actions taken in response to the 2016 report, NHSBT said in a statement: “The investigation and report was managed within the directorate. The report was not presented as a formal paper to the executive team or the board.

“Action was taken, including staffing changes and improvements were also made to staff communications, meetings, working culture, staff development, and clarity of responsibilities.”

Mr Trenholm said: “While at NHSBT, I was made aware of concerns about culture at the Colindale site, in response to which the September 2016 report was commissioned and action taken as a result.”