Financial Management in Health and Social Care Assignment Sample

Introduction - Financial Management in Health and Social Care 

Enhancing Elderly Care at NHS Foundation Trust Care Homes: Implementing a Comprehensive In-Home Care and Telehealth Service

The selected organisation for this research is the NHS Foundation Trust Care Homes which is a well-known health and social care company in the United Kingdom. These are participating care homes within the NHS system aiming at providing the elderly and some with medically complex needs, the extensive end-of-life care in the residential facilities. The current service users include elderly people, many of who have diseases such as dementia, and cardiovascular diseases, and those who have lost their mobility among others. Such residents usually have complex needs that are typically lifelong and often call for help with basic everyday activities, health checks, terminal illness care, and more; a vast majority of the service offerings are delivered directly at the care homes (Andersson, Minogue and Perry, 2019). Currently, there are new directions in the organization of care activities that involve the use of telehealth technologies while providing in-home care. This model will mean that elderly patients can be closely monitored and cared for in their homes with a continuity of teleconsultations with healthcare professionals. Telehealth interdependence permits more efficient and sensitive treatment; patients, therefore, do not have to visit hospitals frequently while the healthcare provider addresses any medical worries within a short time. Further, homecare services would be increased and enhanced whereby service users would be visited regularly by trained healthcare workers who would help manage chronic cases and improve the quality of life of the user.

Say goodbye to sleepless nights over assignments! New Assignment Help offers reliable, affordable, and high-quality Assignment Help services that boost your grades instantly.

Section B - Current HSC financial climate and some of the changing in the funding system

Findings on the Current Health and Social Care Financial Climate:

The current financial management of the UK’s Health and Social Care (HSC) sector has been described as being in a precarious state, mainly owing to factors such as population aging, demands, and constrained funding. NHS Foundation Trust Care Homes like other facilities under the NHS are facing certain problems that revolve around reduced funding, which has a direct effect on the kind of healthcare they can offer. The financial challenge is further exercised by increasing operating expenses, such as employees’ salaries, heath products, and infrastructure expenses (Bailey, Tomlinson and Feeley, 2020).

Changes in Funding, Systems, and Service Design

These capital problems have however prompted the NHS to look for other sources of funding, as well as to redesign its service delivery strategies. Of these, the one that has attracted considerable attention is the transition from input to output-based funding – this is a funding model that rewards providers or care-givers based on the results of care, not the number of inputs placed into the process. They conceived this approach as a way of achieving improvements in resource utilization and, in this way, patient outcomes. Further, increasing the attention towards integrated care systems (ICS,) this part is also revolutionizing how the services are being offered. Integrated care systems or ICS focus on pulling together health and social care organizations to achieve better coordination of patient care to deliver appropriate care at the right time (Birch, Li and Truong, 2021). This partnership is meant to accomplish the intended purpose of minimizing overlap of service and enhancing interdisciplinary care delivery systems. Moreover, there is increasing focus on applications that lead to technological advances such as telehealth as well as electronic health records (EHRs) aimed at improving efficiency and quality of services, increasing patient satisfaction, and decreasing costs (Briggs, Claxton and Sculpher, 2019).

Propose a new service design

To enhance the financial state of the NHS Foundation Trust Care Homes and to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the provided care, the study suggests the combination of home-based care with telehealth services. The reported operational cost in this model is low since the model incorporates technology and community-based systems to support care delivery and yet it improves the patients’ experiences (Collins and Snell, 2020).

Financial Impact:

By proposing to take care of patients at home as well as using virtual methods, the organisation will be able to save on the costs of fully providing residential care services. The King’s Fund study indicated that telehealth lowers hospitalization by up to 20%; the financial implication of this is huge. NHS daily expenditure on the elderly amounts to £ 180 million and among this, spending on facilities that offer care to the elderly stands at £ 4.2 billion of which £ 1.4 billion is spent on residential nursing care. Reducing the usage of residential care and instead promoting the capacity of home-based services could cut down on these expenses and release funds for reinvestment that could improve the quality by up to 15-20 percent(Doran, Maurer and Wolfe, 2022).

Quality of Services:

The incorporation of telehealth will allow constant screening and early treatment of chronic illnesses to minimize hospitalizations and visits to the emergency room. A large number of the population consists of elderly people who in most cases, experience mobility problems hence, would greatly benefit from getting care at home. This approach is consistent with the NHS policies on patient choice and the adoption of technology-enhanced service delivery. The delivery model set in the NHS Long Term Plan also entails additional out-of-hospital care and the development of digital healthcare with a 30% access rate to digital consultations for outpatient appointments by 2024. In addition to this, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advocates for telehealth especially for the management of chronic illnesses due to its effectiveness in improving patients’ status and costs Georghiou, Bardsley and Billings, 2020).

Examination of Past Two-Year Financial Records

Looking at the two years’ financial data of the NHS Foundation Trust Care Homes, it is evident that the major sources of revenues are the government grant, local authorities and patient charges. Fairly, it can be described as majorly government-funded as this forms 60-70% of most organisation’s total income. This Funding is supported by Local Authority Budgets (20-25%), fees from self-financing residents (10-15%) (Harrison and Meyer, 2019).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Current Funding Sources

Government Funding:

• Advantages: One of the authorities of funding is that it allows the government to allocate the necessary amount of money for the functioning of companies in a number of industries regularly, which in turn allows maintaining the necessary level of services provided to consumers. It is also associated with institutional goals that are typically defined by public policies, for example, concerning the enhancement of care quality and availability.
• Disadvantages: It is from the government sources; hence funding is prone to change due to political or economic instability that leads to that of funding. It usually has very strict rules governing its usage; hence there is minimal room for improvisation when using the funds (House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, 2021).

Local Authority Contributions:

• Advantages: The financial provision from the local authorities assists in the delivery of services with targets set to be in harmony with the local requirements in health and social care.
• Disadvantages: Usually, these resources are limited and their availability may not match the growth in care costs, which causes a lack of financing and restricts the development of services.

Patient Fees:

• Advantages: Charges recovered from self-financing residents offer a direct and accessible source of income that can be utilised, in enhancing the services.
• Disadvantages: Dependence on patient charges has challenges in delivering quality health care since the ability to pay for better-quality services is limited to the rich only(Jones and Mays, 2021).

Recommendations for Alternative Funding Sources:

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs):

• Advantages: SIBs leverage on the private capital to finance preventive health care programs while the financial returns depend on social impacts. This can help decrease the overall cost in the long run since patients are healthier and consequently experience fewer admissions.
• Disadvantages: SIBs are generally difficult to design and, therefore, tend to need sound outcomes measurement, which can be costly.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs):

• Advantages: The PPPs could offer ideas and management style of the private companies, and the new care approach and structures may be established. They also help diversify the revenue sources hence the students and means a reduction of the dependence on public funding (Marmot, 2020).
• Disadvantages: The relationships may result in significant emphasis being placed on financial gain rather than on attention to the patients, and contracts create difficulties in their signing and control.

Income and expenditure budget

Category	Income (£)	Expenditure (£)
Income Sources
Government Funding	1,000,000
Local Authority Contributions	500,000
Patient Fees (In-Home Care)	300,000
Telehealth Service Fees	150,000
Social Impact Bonds (SIBs)	200,000
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)	250,000
Total Income	2,400,000
Expenditure Categories
Staff Salaries (In-Home Care)	900,000
Telehealth Infrastructure	400,000
Equipment & Medical Supplies	300,000
Training & Development	150,000
Administrative Costs	100,000
Marketing & Outreach	50,000
Technology Maintenance	100,000
Miscellaneous Expenses	50,000
Total Expenditure	2,050,000
Net Surplus	350,000

Summary:

• Total Income: £2,400,000
• Total Expenditure: £2,050,000
• Net Surplus: £350,000 (McKee and Stuckler, 2021).

Section C

Fund Management and Control Strategy

Fund management is central to realizing the proposed in-home care and telehealth service design for NHS Foundation Trust Care Homes. The management of the funds earmarked for the implementation of the action plan will be driven by planning, monitoring, and control of fund releases for the execution of planned activities. The funds will be allocated optimally and also will directly benefit the improvement of the quality of care offered to the patients besides increasing the operational capabilities of the hospitals (Papanicolas and Smith, 2020).

Budget Planning and Allocation:

The first element of the process is careful and detailed budgeting and resource allocation of the fund management. The budgeting will therefore be done, depending on the identified services that are needed, the cost to be incurred and the possible income to be generated. This includes the projection of all potential expenses such as staff wages, telemedicine equipment, medications, and other running expenses. This financial plan will be broken down into particular line items so that each of the various aspects of the new service design will be provided sufficiently. Funding will be dispensed to maintain concentration on vital services that influence patient care like staffing and medical equipment and there will be enough capacity for technology and facilities (Richardson, Fischer and Greenberg, 2022).

Expenditure Control Measures:

Following the preparation for the expenditure of allocated funds, well-developed control measures will be applied to minimize or track the expenses. This entails action, such as the adoption of an integrated sum management unit that offers a summary of expense information about the financial plan. With the help of the given system, it will be possible to monitor the spending patterns regularly, in this way, any deviations from the given budget will be detected in due course. Operating reports will be prepared on a monthly and year-to-date basis and with the quarter end a review of the company’s financials will take place. These reports will be used by the financial department of the organization when recommending the right areas to make adjustments or cuts and will further be useful for the senior management of the organization to be aware of how much of the money has been spent on which areas (Richardson, Fischer and Greenberg, 2022).

Accountability and Transparency:

Sound management and accountability of funds are some of the most essential principles of the functioning of these institutions. To properly manage all the costs about the organisations’ objectives and goals approval process will be developed. Every significant expense shall be approved by specified high-ranking officers in checking the strategic approach to taking expenditures. Also, a feature of internal checks will be noted, which will involve biennial checking of the business transactions vis-a-vis the set policies. The most important aspect of this audit process is the identification of all the deficiencies and sub-optimal uses of the funds so that immediate corrections can be applied (Richardson, Fischer and Greenberg, 2022).

Advantages and disadvantages of Direct Payments to the service users

Advantages of Direct Payments to Service Users:

Direct Payments create enormous independence and choice for service users in the proposed blended in-scope home-based and telemedicine care delivery. Since service users get cash directly, it is easier for them to choose how to get the care they need and on their terms. For example, they can select their health-care givers or services that fit their health conditions meaning that they can choose certain in-home care providers or telehealth service providers with expertise in their conditions. This makes the users more willing participants in the services they undergo since they choose them on their own free will and hence end up with more satisfaction and generally better health. Besides, Direct Payments enable elderly service users to feel independent and empowered, which are factors that greatly affect mental and emotional statuses (Scobie and Castle-Clarke, 2021).

Disadvantages of Direct Payments to Service Users:

Nevertheless, Direct Payments also have certain disadvantages, especially concerning the misuse of hybrid, in-home care, and telehealth services. Another is a paradox of increased probability of client or family burden in terms of time, energy, and logistics in implementing and managing complex services for people of the elderly. Several considerations apply to the case of managing the Direct Payments such as hiring, budgeting, and following legal requirements that most users are likely not to understand. Thirdly, it is possible to face the problem of unfair use of funds if consumers do not receive proper guidance in payment management. This could worsen other diseases or create month gaps or financial issues for patients to afford their treatment regime. Moreover, each individual seems to receive service not necessarily through the full complement of services provided by the NHS but through Direct Payments, reducing the efficiency of the treatment (Scobie and Castle-Clarke, 2021).

Recommendation

To ensure that users reap the benefits that come with receiving direct payments while avoiding the pitfalls, there must be the development of a support system for those people who will be participating in the hybrid in-home care and telehealth system. This could include directly employing specialised financial consultants or care managers who will help the users in payment making and understanding various ways of budgeting and selecting the most qualified services. Can be delivered as a training session to inform and ‘empower’ service users on the operational realities of Direct Payments such as the selection of caregivers and legal requirements. Furthermore, there is a rationale for the flexible ‘payment by results’ where Direct Payments could form only a part of the structure supplemented by the usual NHS services. This innovation would permit service users to get specialized NHS care which might not be discharged fully by Direct Payments and still have the benefits that are affiliated with Direct Payments. It is recommended that direct payment users should be reviewed and assessed on how they are administering such payments and whether or not they are encountering specific difficulties that may require more help (Scobie and Castle-Clarke, 2021).

Section D

Description:

In this particular module, I was very advanced in my understanding of the internal dynamics of Finance within the Health and Social Care (HSC) sector with accession to NHS Foundation Trust Care Homes. The situational analysis, the presentation of the idea for a new service, and the identification of ways to approach the management of the funds that would be assigned involved several difficulties and lessons. Therefore, my main area of concern was the financial environment, the issues of funding, and the application of exclusive service solutions such as in-home care services or a blend between home-based care and telehealth.

Feelings:

Before the start of the module, I was excited as well as nervous. Even when it came to looking after a money box in a sector as vital as health and social care, the task appeared challenging especially with the money and the creativity that was required. The implementation of the tasks within the framework of the module was accompanied by an increasing self-perception as a competent interpreter of financial information and a capable agent of change. But still, it had been occasionally frustrating during the learning due to the encumbrances of dealing with the structures of funding of the NHS and at times bumping on the difficulties of correlating the financial management-related aspects with the requirements the patients needed.

Evaluation:

Looking back at the process I have noted several strengths of the learning process that apply in my case. I was able to effectively increase my knowledge about key concepts of financial management and its applicability at the HSC level concerning issues such as budgeting, funding, and cost containment. The number of business goals that need to be achieved through the new service design was also rather helpful The value of such concepts as Direct payments was described with proposals to assess their impact to outline a budget for the new service design. Nevertheless, there were lessons that I also learned which included the tough moments that originated from the conflict of interest between the ER's financial performance and dominant ethical and operational requirements of patient care. This brought out the need to sever vices the complex nature of trade-offs inherent in the process of deciding the financial aspect of health care.

Analysis:

Strategic financial management is another concept that was deemed significant and was identified as central to adaptive learning due to its impact on the performance of the organization as well as the quality of the services offered. It raised awareness of how the funds should be dealt with in an area whose sole objective is to improve the patients’ lives and not generate revenue. So, I understood that proper financial management in the sphere of healthcare is as much connected with great and deeper analytical thinking as well as with a strong awareness of social and ethical responsibilities of the financial decisions in the sphere.

Conclusion:

Therefore, it can be concluded that this particular module has improved the knowledge associated with financial management practices in the HSC sector and has also provided an opportunity for the development of the skills of MS Excel, the basics of budgeting, and the methods of financial analysis and planning. However, there is an acknowledgment of the essential knowledge in ethical decisions and successful communication with other stakeholders about financial information, as well as the need to improve specific competencies in financial decision-making for patient, staff, and policymakers’ benefit.

Action Plan

Objective	Action	Timeline
Improve ethical decision-making skills	Enrol in an ethics and financial management course	3 months
Enhance stakeholder engagement	Attend workshops on stakeholder management	6 months
Strengthen financial analysis skills	Complete advanced financial analysis coursework	9 months
Seek mentorship	Identify and engage with a mentor in HSC finance	1 month

References

• Andersson, T., Minogue, V. and Perry, J. (2019) Managing Care in Practice: The Challenges of Financial Management in Health and Social Care. London: Routledge.
• Bailey, C., Tomlinson, V. and Feeley, J. (2020) 'Telehealth and In-Home Care Integration: A Financial Perspective', Journal of Healthcare Management, 65(4), pp. 249-260. doi: 10.1097/JHM.0000000000000294.
• Birch, S., Li, M. and Truong, T. (2021) 'Evaluating the Impact of Direct Payments in Health and Social Care: A Cost-Benefit Analysis', Health Economics Review, 11(1), pp. 1-10. doi: 10.1186/s13561-021-00289-6.
• Briggs, A. H., Claxton, K. and Sculpher, M. J. (2019) Decision Modelling for Health Economic Evaluation. 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Collins, B. and Snell, T. (2020) 'Financial Challenges in the NHS: Strategies for Sustainability', The King's Fund. Available at: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/financial-challenges-nhs (Accessed: 25 July 2024).
• Doran, T., Maurer, K. and Wolfe, C. (2022) 'The Role of Public-Private Partnerships in the NHS: A Financial Analysis', Journal of Public Health Policy, 43(2), pp. 220-230. doi: 10.1057/s41271-022-00328-4.
• Georghiou, T., Bardsley, M. and Billings, J. (2020) 'Telehealth Services in the NHS: Financial Implications and Patient Outcomes', BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), pp. 1-9. doi: 10.1186/s12913-020-05120-2.
• Harrison, S. and Meyer, N. (2019) 'Challenges and Opportunities in Financial Management in Health Care', Healthcare Financial Management, 73(6), pp. 42-48.
• House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee (2021) Social Care: Funding and Workforce. London: HMSO. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmhealth/250/250.pdf (Accessed: 25 July 2024).
• Jones, L. and Mays, N. (2021) 'Cost Control in Health and Social Care: Lessons from the NHS', Health Policy, 125(2), pp. 175-182. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2021.01.005.
• Marmot, M. (2020) The Health Gap: The Challenge of an Unequal World. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
• McKee, M. and Stuckler, D. (2021) 'The Impact of Austerity on Health and Social Care in the UK', The Lancet Public Health, 6(1), pp. e28-e33. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30238-4.
• Papanicolas, I. and Smith, P. C. (2020) Health System Performance Comparison: An Agenda for Policy, Information and Research. 2nd edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
• Richardson, E., Fischer, E. and Greenberg, D. (2022) 'Financial Management in Health Care: Implications of New Service Models', Health Services Management Research, 35(1), pp. 26-35. doi: 10.1177/09514848211046455.
• Scobie, S. and Castle-Clarke, S. (2021) 'NHS Funding and Efficiency: The Need for Reform', British Medical Journal, 373, n1658. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n1658.