Brennan Report - Department of Health and Children

Number Recommendation IT TimeframeRequirements129SERVICE PLANNING – SUPPORTING THE MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONR4.1 A single, comprehensive and standardised template for Service Plans should be adopted.This none On completion of R4.2should cover Service Plans at all levels: clinical Consultants, hospitals and non-hospital GeneralManagers at sub-health board level as well as regional health boards and the national Executive.Higher level Service Plans should be derived from lower level Service Plans (e.g. hospital from theaggregate of individual Consultants).R4.2 Pending establishment of the Executive, a working group, including representation from the none To commence immediatelythe Department of Health and Children, Department of Finance, and the regional health boards,and report withinshould be established to devise an appropriate standard template and to make recommendations6 monthsto the Secretary General and Minister for Health and Children.R4.3 The terms of reference for the working group recommended at R4.2 above should, having regard none See R4.2to the data improvements afforded by the investment in information technology recommended inChapter 10, include consideration of how best the Service Plans could be structured to provide:(i) Clear statements of projected service provision analysed by the main care groups(including each specialty in hospitals), linked to funding (both pay and non-pay elements);(ii) Integrated financial and non-financial data. Formal and clear inter-connections are neededbetween cost (approved determination) and activity (level of service being provided); and(iii) Pay and employment data.R4.4 The working group at R4.2 above should also consider how existing reporting arrangements none See R4.2might be restructured to provide, again in a standardised format, an ongoing report on progressagainst targets and objectives set out in the Service Plan (see also Chapter 9 recommendationsin this regard). In particular:(i)(ii)Monthly Integrated Management Reports should be closely linked to the Service Plan.Quarterly Performance Indicator Reports should continue to be explicit on delivery oftargets and should also be linked to the Service Plan.(iii) Annual Reports and Financial Statements should specifically link back to financial andactivity performance envisaged in the Service Plan. This would provide the final linkbetween the Letter of Determination, Service Plan, Integrated Management Reports,Annual Financial Statement and Annual Report.R4.5 Service Plans of the Executive and the health boards should ideally be agreed and in place before none asapthe commencement of the year to which they relate.Addendum