Planning and Managing Resource in Health and Social Care
Table of Contents
Resource Planning and Best Service User Outcomes in Care. 3
Contribution of Key Stakeholders. 4
Resource Planning and Good Budgeting. 5
Planning, Performance and Achievement of Goals. 6
Budgetary Restrictions in the Current Fiscal Climate. 7
Accountability and Responsibility in the use of resources. 8
Conclusion and Recommendations. 9
Planning and Managing Resource in Health and Social Care
Executive Summary
This report is on Lotus Healthcare Ltd.’s mental health expansion project. The project primary objective is to the accessibility to mental health services. Services will be based on the service user’s needs and quality standards. The service users, local politicians, contractors, and suppliers will participate in determining the services and resources needed to implement the project. The budget will be used as a basis for monitoring performance. The staff and services users, local politicians, contractors, government and technology make up the project’s environment. Expansion fund, growth fund, equity funds and direct loans will be used as sources of funding. Performance evaluation will be based on the NICE and Quality Care Commission standards. The staff and the management will account for the services provided.
Introduction
Planning and managing health and social care services are critical. Planning in health and social care is the process of conceiving the future state of health and social care and the process of obtaining resources to achieve a of set objectives (Field, p.2). Management is the organization of resources to achieve health and social care objectives. Planning and management of health and social care’s primary purpose is to meet the healthcare needs of the service users (Field, p.2). The government, local authorities, local community, service users, the staff, competitors and suppliers are the stakeholders whose input is important in planning and managing the health and social care (Walshe, Coleman, McDonald, Lorne, and Munford, 2016, p.500). This report discusses the use of resources and budgeting, based on constrained resources to meet the service users’ needs for health and social care services in the light of the mental health supported housing project of the Lotus Healthcare Ltd.
Question 1
Question 1(a)
Resource Planning and Best Service User Outcomes in Care
The purpose of the expansion program is to make mental health care accessible to service users. Clarification of the purpose of the expansion explains the need for applying for funding from potential sources of funding. The new mental health supported housing project will expand the mental health services offered by Lotus Healthcare Ltd. Making mental health services available will subsequently make them accessible to the local community. Ensuring that mental health services are accessible is one of the areas addressed by the National Service Framework for Mental Health on primary care and access to mental health services (NHS, 2000, p.5). Accessible mental health services are an output of the project (Martin, Charlesworth, and Henderson, 2010, p.155). Accessibility is a defined and measurable output in service provision. Developing measurable outputs is one of the planning concepts. The measurable outcomes will be used as indicators against which the performance of the project will be evaluated (Smith, and Goodwin, 2017, p.15).
PESTLE Analysis
Political Factors. The project planning process has taken into account the possible effects of Brexit. The plan includes four financiers to cushion the funding from adverse effects of Brexit on some of the financiers.
Economic Factors. The budget puts into consideration the future inflation that may affect the prices of equipment and tools purchased to establish the project.
Social Factors. The project aims at meeting the service users’ mental healthcare needs. The project addresses the existing gap in mental healthcare.
Technological Factors. The technology that will be employed will be safe. For instance, the materials will be safe for the workers, the patient and staff members.
Legal Factors. The project conforms to the National Service Framework for Mental Health on primary care and access to mental health services. The project’s primary aim is to ensure accessibility of mental healthcare services to services users. Mental healthcare accessibility is one of the elements of the framework.
Environmental Factors. The construction project will minimise its impact on the environment. Waste disposal such as plastic wastes will adhere to environmental conservation guidelines.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths. Some of the staff members will be transferred from Lotus Healthcare Ltd to provide services after completion of the expansion project. The existing staff members have experience in mental healthcare provision. The expansion project management will rely on the already existing Lotus Healthcare Ltd.’s management. Therefore, no new management structure will be required for the project.
Weaknesses. The project requires funds that the Lotus Healthcare Ltd cannot afford without external financiers. External financiers are needed to fund the project.
Opportunities. There are already available quality standards set by Quality Care Commission and NICE to guide and evaluate performance. The NHS has set out NHF, to specifying the priority mental healthcare services in the UK. The company has history of business transaction with suppliers and contractors. The company will easily identify the best contractors and suppliers.
Threats. The impacts of Brexit on the business are uncertain. The global climate threatens the business’s ability to adhere to anticipated new requirements of business operations on climate conservation.
Contribution of Key Stakeholders
Various stakeholders’ input and demands are considered in planning and resource mobilization of the project. The project planning phase will involve all the stakeholders. The project will exist in the environment that affects its establishment and operations (Martin, Charlesworth, and Henderson, 2010, p.155). The planning and implementation process will involve the staff members and managers at Lotus Healthcare Ltd.
The Business Environment
The managers and the staff will determine the organization and the resources required in the construction, establishment and running of the project. The service users, local politicians, contractors and other suppliers are part of the near environment. The service users’ input will determine the specific services that are needed that will be offered after the completion of the project (Martin, Charlesworth, and Henderson, 2010, p.156). Determination of the specific services to be offered to the users achieves the appropriateness of the project to the needs of the service users. Projects in healthcare should be based on the healthcare needs of the targeted population. The local politician’s input is needed for political goodwill. The allocation of central and local authorities’ resources is largely influenced by the prevailing politics (Lomas, Martin, and Claxton, 2019, 57). The contactor’s input is useful to accurately determine expenditure estimation as one of the key components of budget and planning (Martin, Charlesworth, and Henderson, 2010, p.116). Other competitors’ input facilitates collaboration with the Lotus Healthcare Ltd to pull resources together. The project planning considers the projected changes in National Health Serves (NHS) after BREXIT. The prevailing politics in the UK encompass policies that will cause changes to the staffing and operations at the NHS (Exworthy, Powell, and Glasby, 2017, p.1126). Politics are part of the far environment within which the healthcare organization and the project exist. Politics will affect the operation of mental health housing project (Wells, and Cunningham, 2017, p.190).
Resource Planning and Good Budgeting
The expansion program incorporates the available resources into the budget for the expansion program. Planning, budget and the achievement of the objectives of the project will be integrated. The resources required will be expressed in terms numerical values in the budget for the mental health project. The resources, and thus the budget, are meant to achieve the objectives of expanding mental health services offered by the Lotus Healthcare Ltd. The budget will portray the importance of the project and will be used as the basis for convincing potential sources of funding (Humphries, 2015, p. 857). The budget will be used as basis for performance development. The objective set will be used to evaluate the outcomes of the business at the end of a given period.
Question 1(b)
Healthcare resources are constrained in the UK. The limitation in healthcare resources is caused by the increasing demand for healthcare services and trends in population characteristics. Healthcare resources are the materials, human resource and financial input required to offer healthcare services. To obtain health care resources, funding is required. This project considers private financiers as sources of funding to implement the planned project.
Sources of Funding
The expansion capital funding is a suitable source of funding for the project. Expansion capital provides financial support for expansion of services and acquisition of additional infrastructure (British Business Bank, 2019). Expansion capital fund does not discriminate the type of businesses it funds and funds health and social care businesses, as well (British Business Bank, 2019). Similarly, the mental health housing project is an expansion of Lotus Healthcare Ltd and requires infrastructural expansion. The expansion capital funds businesses that provide various services, has plans to grow and is sustainable. The mental health housing project is part of the Lotus Healthcare Ltd and will be one of the facilities of the company that offer different services to the service users. The project is sustainable since it will be part of the larger Lotus Healthcare Ltd, which has resources. Expansion fund requires businesses to have a long-term financial and business plan (British Business Bank, 2019). The mental health housing project has a plan to provide healthcare services to the service users in the long-term period. The plan includes a financial plan that accounts for the sources of funding, expenses and considers probable future changes.
Growth capital fund is suitable for funding the mental health expansion project. The fund provides capital to businesses that plan to grow. The fund requires a business to have a legal framework and a business plan (British Business Bank, 2019). The mental health housing project is an expansion of the Lotus Healthcare Ltd and operates under the parent company’s framework. The project is primarily an expansion. The project’s main purpose is to ensure that the mental health services are accessible to the service users. The project addresses the mental health care gap that exists among its service users. The project is sustainable since it relies on a budget, based on its current expenditure and projected future financial changes.
Direct bank loans are alternative funding options for the mental health project. Lotus Healthcare Ltd will use its assets as security for bank loans (British Business Bank, 2019). The Company will agree with potential lenders on the period of repayment. Banks provide loans to fund expansion programs in health and social care in the UK. The loan will be paid from the revenues that the service users pay for the mental healthcare services offered.
Equity funds are suitable for the expansion project. Equity funds provide financial support to different types of businesses, including health and social care businesses. Available investors in the UK who can fund the project are: Angel Venture Capital and Private Equity (British Business Bank, 2019). The equity fund investors participate in the Lotus Healthcare Ltd.’s management board. The investors provide personnel with the knowledge and experience on management and achievement of the goals of the mental health project. Since the investors have invested in the project there will provide support in the long term (British Business Bank, 2019).
Planning, Performance and Achievement of Goals
The performance evaluation will be based on the existing mental healthcare frameworks. The standards of performance for the staff in the mental health project will reflect the standards set out by the Care Quality Commission of England. Planning puts into consideration the expected standards and quality of care. One of the standards set by the commission is to ensure that the care offered is person-centered. The project is based on the needs of the already existing service users. The expansion aims at addressing the existing health and social care demands in Lotus Healthcare Ltd. The new project will offer services that are tailored towards achieving the identified needs of people with mental health problems. The expanded project addresses the healthcare needs of the local community. During the planning process, the local community, local politicians and the other healthcare providers will be part of the stakeholders (Grundy et al., 2016, p.20). The objectives will guide the allocation of resources in the provision of mental health services. Resource allocation targets the specific mental health issues of the service users and the local community’s common mental health needs.
The staff members’ competency will aim to achieve the set goals. The new mental health facility staff will be hired based on their competency in mental health care provision. One of the quality standards set out by the Quality Care Commission is that the members of the staff should be competent, qualified and experienced (Quality Care Commission, 2017, p.1).
Meeting the services users’ needs is a priority for mental health supported housing project. The planning process sets aside resources for setting up a channel for patient complaint. The Quality Care Commission requires health service providers to receive response to patient complaints (Quality Care Commission, 2017, p.1). Resources will be allocated for recruiting customer care personnel responsible for receiving patient feedback on the quality of care and communicating the needs to the relevant staff members and managers.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) quality standards form the basis of performance evaluation at the project. The health services offered after completion of the mental health supported housing project will be accounted for through the adherence to the quality standards. The mental health services will correspond to the qualities set out by NICE. According to NICE’s quality standards, the mental health service users should be involved in care (NICE, p.10). The resources will be allocated to ensure the staff members are trained on the importance of obtaining consent before care. The staff members will be trained on how to obtain and respond to patient feedback on care. The aim of this quality standard is to maximize service user’s experience in offering care. The quality standards will be used to evaluate the performance of the project after a given period.
Budgetary Restrictions in the Current Fiscal Climate
The budget includes staffing, equipment and training resources needed to achieve the quality standards. To ensure efficient budgeting, in restricted availability of resources, the budgeting process will utilize specific methods. The budgeting process will take into account the anticipated changes in the number of service users, increased equipment, staff and infrastructure. Further, the budget estimations will account for the adopted quality standards as outlined by the NICE and Quality Care Commission. The budget will be allocated the resources required to provide mental healthcare services to the required quality standards. The staff needs to be continuously trained to provide the expanded mental health services at the mental health facility. The main goal for the new mental health facility is to make the mental health services more accessible and drivers to the service users.
The budget will reflect anticipated changes in staff payment and the cost of equipment and materials. Staffing accounts for the significant portion of expenditure in UK’s healthcare setting (Field, p.50). In the scenario of mental health services expansion at Locust Healthcare Ltd, the budget will account for the anticipated salary changes, allowances and rewards. The cost of equipment and machines will reflect the anticipated inflation. Inflation changes the prices of commodities in the market (Field, p.69). Due to the uncertainty of future inflation at the time of preparing the budget, the budget will give allowance for inflation.
Accountability and Responsibility in the Use of Resources
Accountability and responsibility in resource utilization are reflected in the expansion project’s mental health expansion. Locust healthcare Ltd, as an organization, will be accountable for the quality of care provided. The Locust Healthcare Ltd organization will be answerable for the resources used and the services used. The members of the staff will be responsible and accountable for the services that they provide. The members of the staff will be evaluated on the level of performance. The outlined quality of care standards adopted from NICE and Quality Care Commission will be used as the indicators against which the members of staffs’ performance will be evaluated. The new mental health facility will be organized into different departments. The different departments will be headed by managers. Each manager will be responsible and accountable for the services offered in the respective department. Accountability and responsibility are implemented hierarchically (Quality Care Commission, 2017, p.1). The managers are responsible and accountable for the quality of the services offered to service users. The members of staff, managers and the organization are responsible for the use of resources to achieve the objectives that have been set to be achieved.
Lotus Healthcare Ltd promotes accountability and responsibility. The governance of the mental health facility will be structured to be accountable and responsible for the services offered to the service users. The staff members on the facility will undergo quality perfume improvement regularly. The staff members will be evaluated based on the NICE’s and Quality of Care commission’s quality standards (Quality Care Commission, 2017, p.1). The evaluation will form the basis for further improvement. Notably, the performance evaluation will assess if the resources have been appropriately used to achieve the objectives. Staff performance will be carried out to ensure the service users receive the services that they need. The infrastructure and the equipment of the healthcare services will be in line with the main purpose of providing mental health serves to the service users. The new mental health facility will be managed in a hierarchical manner, where at each level, certain staff members are held accountable for the safety and quality of services provided. The staff members for each department will conduct professional development at given intervals, to be determined by the manager leading each department.
The practice of healthcare provision will change as per the current evidence. The healthcare provision will be evidence-based. Evidence based practice is a strategy of providing healthcare responsibly and accountably (Martin, Charlesworth, and Henderson, 2010, p.120). Service provision will be informed by new and emerging empirical incidence. The staff members will be trained in emerging evidence that reflects need for change in care. The evidence will be incorporated into care through a structured process.
Risk Management
The company will incur costs in settling patients’ claims from staffs’ malpractices. Further, the company could incur extra costs in managing preventable adverse events such as patient falls, skin pressure ulcers, and complications from unsafe care (Simsekler, Card, Ward, & Clarkson, 2015).
Patient safety policies will be incorporated into the business plan. The staff will be educated on the need to minimise risks to service users and how to provide safe and quality healthcare (Simsekler, Card, Ward, & Clarkson, 2015). The policies will ensure collaborative approach towards patient risks mitigation,
As part of the policy, detailed documentation of incident reports will be a requirement after adverse clinical events. Data from the documentation will be shared to all staff members to take measures to prevent clinical adverse events that compromise patients’ safety (Simsekler, Card, Ward, & Clarkson, 2015). Risk mitigation will ensure patient safety and prevent financial losses incurred by the company through patient claims.
A risk management program will be incorporated during implementation of the program. The risk mitigation program will support continuous evaluation of clinical care and adherence to safety guidelines (Simsekler, Card, Ward, & Clarkson, 2015). The program contains analysis of the clinical risks in mental healthcare provision and measures to mitigate such risks.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In conclusion, this report addresses the strategic establishment of mental health supported housing project by Lotus Healthcare Ltd. The report demonstrates how best user services will be achieved by the use of the available resources and quality standards. The report further discusses how resource planning will support the staff members and the hospital to achieve both and short and long term goals. The following recommendations are made based on the presented challenges:
- Lotus Healthcare Ltd should increase its profits so as to rely on its internal resources to fund future expansion projects and avoid reliance on external resources of funds.
- Lotus Healthcare Ltd should collaborate with other healthcare providers to raise capital and co-fund projects in the future.
- The company should take risk mitigation measures to avoid costs and guarantee patient safety.
- The company should continuously evaluate its performance based on key performance indicators to improve its quality of care.
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