16th February - 20th February 2015 & 23rd February - 27th February 2015
Week 24/25 marks six months of being on placement at the CCG! I can't believe how quickly the past few months have gone and how welcome every member of staff has made me feel! I have learnt an incredible amount about the NHS and the healthcare sector and I have gained a number of skills which will be extremely useful during the final year of my Degree. I am now looking forward to working towards the end of the financial year with the Finance and Contracts Team and the next 5/6 months of working before I return to student life!
Over the past two weeks, I have continued to work alongside the Finance Team; coding invoices, checking invoices against predicted data for payment and I have also been chasing invoices from local providers for the schemes which have been funded as part of the winter implementation plan.
I have also had the opportunity to gain more experience within HR (Human Resources). At the CCG, in the Business Team, we are looking to recruit a new Quality Improvement Manager who will be responsible for supporting the development of processes and structures that will improve quality of care and safeguard patients. Along with my manager, we have created a job description and person specification, ready for the vacancy to be advertised online. I have enjoyed being part of the recruitment process within the NHS and the skills I have developed will be extremely beneficial when studying Strategic Human Resource Management when I return to University in September.
On Thursday, I was given the responsibility of checking the NCA (Non-Contract Activity) invoices on our online system against the data from SUS (Secondary Uses Data) which is a healthcare database which allows staff to anaylse a range of data, run off reports and access predicted invoice amounts for certain healthcare treatments that are performed out of our area. I have gone through the process of coding invoices (which is a regular day-to-day task) to then comparing the amount from SUS against the actual amount shown on the invoice, a variance is then provided which can be queried with the provider if there is a significant difference. Once the NCA invoices have been checked against the predicted data, they are then sent to the appropriate member of the Finance Team for payment.
26 February 2015
12 February 2015
Assisting with the Funded Nursing Care Payments;
9th February - 13th February 2015
On Monday, I helped Kim (Finance Assistant) to run off the schedule for February’s FNC (Funded Nursing Care) payments. Every month, Kim runs off the FNC schedule from a system called ‘Broadcare’ which enables her to identify how much each Care Home in the area has spent on funded nursing care. The schedule is downloaded, checked to ensure payments are correct and then sent to the individual Care Homes to allow them to make changes if necessary. It was great to gain an understanding of what happens to the FNC payments once I have coded the invoices on Oracle (the system where the invoices are stored).
I have also been continuing to put together the Local Quality Requirements for a number of healthcare providers, which will be placed within the 2015/16 contracts for each provider. The Local Quality Requirements are included in the Quality Schedule section of a contract, which is reviewed each year and includes the Operational Standards, National Quality Requirements and Never Events (certain events that should never happen) which the provider must comply with.
On Monday, I helped Kim (Finance Assistant) to run off the schedule for February’s FNC (Funded Nursing Care) payments. Every month, Kim runs off the FNC schedule from a system called ‘Broadcare’ which enables her to identify how much each Care Home in the area has spent on funded nursing care. The schedule is downloaded, checked to ensure payments are correct and then sent to the individual Care Homes to allow them to make changes if necessary. It was great to gain an understanding of what happens to the FNC payments once I have coded the invoices on Oracle (the system where the invoices are stored).
I have also been continuing to put together the Local Quality Requirements for a number of healthcare providers, which will be placed within the 2015/16 contracts for each provider. The Local Quality Requirements are included in the Quality Schedule section of a contract, which is reviewed each year and includes the Operational Standards, National Quality Requirements and Never Events (certain events that should never happen) which the provider must comply with.
6 February 2015
Recruiting my Successor!
2nd February - 6th February 2015
On Monday, myself and my manager, Andrew conducted interviews for the new placement student. It was a great opportunity to further develop my skills within Human Resources and to understand more about the NHS recruitment process. We interviewed a number of candidates for the role and we asked them to produce a presentation which explains what a CCG is. All of the candidates produced brilliant, informative presentations which really went into the detail about the core role and values of a CCG. It was an extremely tough decision selecting a candidate for the role, as all interviewees came out with very close scores. We have selected a great candidate and we are now looking forward to our new placement student starting in the summer!
I have really enjoyed gaining experience in HR over the past month, as I have not had an opportunity at University to understand in depth about the Human Resources side of Business. I have been responsible for producing the job advert, contacting local Universities in order to advertise the vacancy, liasing with our HR department to advertise on NHS Jobs, shortlisting candidates and being part of the interview panel. I would definitely consider HR as a potential career in the future! The experience has been invaluable and I have further developed a number of existing skills (which reminds me, I need to update my CV!)
With the new financial year fast approaching, we are in the process of developing new CQUINs for 2015/16. This week I have started to create the CQUIN goal spreadsheets. Each CQUIN is given an indicator number, a description, rationale and milestones to achieve. This is then matched to the specific value of the provider contract. CQUINs offer the local healthcare providers the opportunity to earn an extra 2.5% of their contract value if the CQUIN milestones are met in the appropriate timeframe. We are also in the process of putting together the Local Quality Requirements for each provider, which are included in the Quality Schedule of the contract and lists what the provider must achieve when providing the service.
On Monday, myself and my manager, Andrew conducted interviews for the new placement student. It was a great opportunity to further develop my skills within Human Resources and to understand more about the NHS recruitment process. We interviewed a number of candidates for the role and we asked them to produce a presentation which explains what a CCG is. All of the candidates produced brilliant, informative presentations which really went into the detail about the core role and values of a CCG. It was an extremely tough decision selecting a candidate for the role, as all interviewees came out with very close scores. We have selected a great candidate and we are now looking forward to our new placement student starting in the summer!
I have really enjoyed gaining experience in HR over the past month, as I have not had an opportunity at University to understand in depth about the Human Resources side of Business. I have been responsible for producing the job advert, contacting local Universities in order to advertise the vacancy, liasing with our HR department to advertise on NHS Jobs, shortlisting candidates and being part of the interview panel. I would definitely consider HR as a potential career in the future! The experience has been invaluable and I have further developed a number of existing skills (which reminds me, I need to update my CV!)
With the new financial year fast approaching, we are in the process of developing new CQUINs for 2015/16. This week I have started to create the CQUIN goal spreadsheets. Each CQUIN is given an indicator number, a description, rationale and milestones to achieve. This is then matched to the specific value of the provider contract. CQUINs offer the local healthcare providers the opportunity to earn an extra 2.5% of their contract value if the CQUIN milestones are met in the appropriate timeframe. We are also in the process of putting together the Local Quality Requirements for each provider, which are included in the Quality Schedule of the contract and lists what the provider must achieve when providing the service.
3 February 2015
My first NHS Contract has been issued!
26th January - 30th January 2015
On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to spend the morning in the GP out-of-hours (OOH) department based in the hospital. I met with one of the Doctors who showed me around, specifically looking at the A&E department and the AAU (Acute Assessment Unit) which are all based near the out-of-hours department. The out-of-hours unit is aimed at patients who require assessment, advice and treatment for urgent healthcare problems when a patient is not an emergency, but needs to be seen urgently. The out-of-hours GPs also visit patients at home when they are unable to get to the surgery. The session was really interesting as it allowed me to gain an insight into the clinical side of the services we commission, in addition to also seeing how the hospital operates on a daily basis.
I have now finished drawing up my first NHS Contract! There is a specific structure which can be followed to ensure the correct information and documents are included - this has been great for me, as it has allowed me to easily identify any elements that are missing. I have also been responsible for liaising with the healthcare provider to ensure the correct documentation is included before the contract is issued and signed.
Within the Business Team, at this time of year, we focus on drawing up contracts and implementing new CQUIN (Commissioning for Quality and Innovation) objectives for the local healthcare providers. This week, we held a CQUIN workshop which enabled a variety of staff from the hospital to work together to consider what goals they wish to achieve in 2015/16, in order to receive a 2.5% return of their contract value. The workshop was a really effective way of ensuring that the CQUINs we implement are achievable and realistic and allowed ideas to be shared between the group. There are certain national CQUINs which we must implement from NHS England, in addition to local CQUINs which CCGs are responsible for implementing.
On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to spend the morning in the GP out-of-hours (OOH) department based in the hospital. I met with one of the Doctors who showed me around, specifically looking at the A&E department and the AAU (Acute Assessment Unit) which are all based near the out-of-hours department. The out-of-hours unit is aimed at patients who require assessment, advice and treatment for urgent healthcare problems when a patient is not an emergency, but needs to be seen urgently. The out-of-hours GPs also visit patients at home when they are unable to get to the surgery. The session was really interesting as it allowed me to gain an insight into the clinical side of the services we commission, in addition to also seeing how the hospital operates on a daily basis.
I have now finished drawing up my first NHS Contract! There is a specific structure which can be followed to ensure the correct information and documents are included - this has been great for me, as it has allowed me to easily identify any elements that are missing. I have also been responsible for liaising with the healthcare provider to ensure the correct documentation is included before the contract is issued and signed.
Within the Business Team, at this time of year, we focus on drawing up contracts and implementing new CQUIN (Commissioning for Quality and Innovation) objectives for the local healthcare providers. This week, we held a CQUIN workshop which enabled a variety of staff from the hospital to work together to consider what goals they wish to achieve in 2015/16, in order to receive a 2.5% return of their contract value. The workshop was a really effective way of ensuring that the CQUINs we implement are achievable and realistic and allowed ideas to be shared between the group. There are certain national CQUINs which we must implement from NHS England, in addition to local CQUINs which CCGs are responsible for implementing.
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