It is the time of year when many NHS Trusts are finalising their plans for the next financial year and finance teams are busy agreeing with the divisional operational, CIP and transformation teams what to include in the financial plan.
With the current level of financial pressure and scrutiny faced by many NHS Trusts, this years financial and operational plans need to be tested and challenged with a higher degree of rigour than in previous years. Trusts need to be confident that the level of activity within their plans can be delivered, particularly in light of the current pressure relating to the availability of hospital beds, staff and the increasing levels of delayed transfers of care . To this ends Trust need to understand the likely impact of increases in demand for non elective services; planned increases or decreases in demand for elective services and changes to be delivered through CIP or transformation programmes and how these will affect the overall levels of capacity and demand within their hospitals. Furthermore Trusts need to ensure that the CIP and Transformation changes they are planning to deliver will have the desired impact upon operational performance.
The use of simulation models will help Trust identify if their plans are achievable and to get a better understanding of the interactions within the hospital and if necessary wider healthcare system.
