DESCRIPTION OF THE GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE MERGER OF BMC AND NEDC INTO THE BSO

Transcription

1 DESCRIPTION OF THE GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE MERGER OF BMC AND NEDC INTO THE BSO 1. Background 1.1 The DHSSPS wrote to HSC organisations on 22 December 2010 inviting comments on proposals to merge the Beeches Management Centre (BMC) and the Nursing Education and Development Consortium (NEDC) into the BSO. The DHSSPS proposed that the two organisations would be merged into the BSO on 1 April Consultation closed on 28 January and following a review of the responses to the consultation document the Minister has decided that the merger would precede on 1 April 2011 or as soon as possible thereafter. 1.2 The Department has established a short-term Project Management Group to oversee the implementation of the merger. At its first meeting, held on 22 March 2011, it was agreed that the BSO representative on the group would forward for information, proposals on the management and governance for the new arrangements. That is the purpose of this paper. 1.3 The group also agreed that the 1st July 2011 should be the target date for the transfer of staff from BMC and NEDC to BSO. The responsibility for the management of one or both of the transferring organisations could occur before this date, subject to due diligence carried out by the BSO. It would be the responsibility of the Department to approve the new arrangements. 2. The Functions of BMC and NEDC 2.1 The Beeches Management Centre (BMC) was founded in 1994 (originally known as the Provider Support Unit) by HSC organisations at a time when Trusts were being introduced. Its primary purpose was to provide management development and non clinical training services to its core clients. The BMC contracted on an annual basis with core clients (those HSC organisations in the South and East of N. Ireland) through Service Level Agreements. Core clients were at liberty to terminate or amend the volume of services provided by BMC.

2 In later years the DHSS&PS became a major client, commissioning regional leadership training and other specialist programmes. The Department is now the largest customer of the BMC. 2.2 In 1997 the BMC was enlarged to include a Nurse Education Unit. It is funded entirely by the DHSS&PS. The purpose was to provide clinical nurse education, training and support to Trusts in the East and South of N. Ireland. More recently a training unit for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) was incorporated within the BMC, also funded by the DHSS&PS. 2.3 NEDC is the equivalent of the BMC s Nurse Education Unit for the North and West of N. Ireland. Almost all its funding comes from the Department. 2.4 There are106 (94 wte) staff engaged in the work of BMC and NEDC. As neither body has a statutory basis the contracts of employment are held by two Trusts. Staff in BMC are employed by the South Eastern Trust and those in NEDC are employed by the Northern Trust. The annual income of both organisations totalled approximately 5.5m (to be confirmed) in 2010/ Accountability and Governance Arrangements 3.1 The Consultation paper stated that any future arrangements should be supportive of the following objectives:- Maintain the autonomy of education services in how it goes about the business of providing services to clients Give HSC bodies a sense of ownership in the future of the organisational arrangements and a say in what they do. Ensure that the arrangements retain a culture of responsiveness and value for money. Provide effective governance arrangements and clarity of lines of accountability Have sound performance management arrangements Demonstrate sound financial management and meet controls standards.

3 4. The Council 4.1 The consultation document proposed the establishment of a Council that would collectively represent the interests of core clients. The Council would provide the means to address the first, second and third objectives that are set out above. The Council would be made of or representatives drawn from its core clients (Core clients are defined as those organisations in the HSC system that have Service Level Agreements with the provider organisation). The role of the Council would be to collectively represent the interests of the core clients in the Nurse Education Centre and the Leadership Centre. (These names are not intended to represent the final nomenclature for the new Units) Its functions would include:- To agree a 3 year rolling strategic plan for both Centres. To agree an annual programme of activities. To hold the Chief Executive of BSO to account for the for the delivery of the 3 year and annual programmes To oversee the monitoring of professional standards within both Centres. 5. Membership of the Council 5.1 It is suggested that membership would be constituted as follows:- 6 places for the 6 HSC Trusts 2 for DHSSPS 1 for the HSCB 1 for the PHA 1 for the other regional bodies Chief Executive BSO 5.2 The Council would be chaired by a Chief Executive from the HSC (other than BSO). The Council would meet on at least 2 occasions each year. The Heads of both Centres would attend the Council. Given the nature of the business it would be essential that the Nursing and Allied Health Professions are represented on the Council. If the nominations from HSC bodies do not provide at least 3 Nurses and an AHP, then the Council should have the power to co-opt. It is agreed that it would help facilitate the change process if the arrangements referred to above ensured that there was a nurse representative from the previous NEDC and BMC Nursing core client organisations.

4 5.3 Each core client will have its own SLA with the BSO for services from both Centres and it would be expected that if there are any issues regarding the delivery of individual SLAs these would be resolved between that organisation and the BSO. The membership of the Council will be reviewed after two years. Each core client would agree to retain at least the same level of business for the first 2 years of the new arrangements (subject to agreed adjustments for CSR) 6. The New Management Arrangements 6.1 The remaining three objectives set out in the consultation document deal with clarity of accountability, performance management, controls assurance and financial management. The Chief Executive of BSO would be the Accountable Officer for the transferred services. BSO would hold the contracts of employment and provide financial, HR and other support services. The BSO through its Chief Executive would have management responsibility for the staff and for the operation and performance of the functions previously undertaken by BMC and NEDC. 6.2 The consultation document restated the Ministers intention to strengthen the regional aspects of education and training delivery by focusing on four key organisations that had remained largely unaffected by the RPA reforms. These organisations were the NI Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA), the Northern Ireland Practice Education Council (NIPEC), the BMC and NEDC. The first two organisations are statutory bodies and legislation would be required to make change to how their services were organised this in effect meant that they could not be included in the same time frame for change as BMC and NEDC. 6.3 Given that the possible inclusion of the functions of NIMDTA and NIPEC would have significant consequences for how BSO would run a comprehensive multi professional regional development function it is proposed to introduce interim management arrangements to facilitate the transfer of BMC and NEDC. These interim arrangements need to be robust enough to ensure that the transfer to BSO goes efficiently and without detriment to the provision of services to customers. It is recognised that the arrangements set out in this document may need to be revisited should further mergers occur It is proposed that NEDC would merge with the nursing and AHP wing of the BMC with a focus on clinical education, training and development. This new service would be headed up by a senior member of staff who would report to the Chief Executive of the BSO. For the purposes of this paper it will be referred to as the Nurse Education Centre. The Management Development wing of the BMC would be headed up by another senior member of staff who would also report to the Chief Executive of BSO. It is

5 referred to as the Leadership Centre. Both post holders would be members of an extended BSO senior management team. Each of the services would need to be rebranded to reflect the regional nature of their services It will be important to maintain good communications with affected staff and their trade union representatives before and after the merger. Once transferred, staff will be covered by the JNC arrangements already operational in BSO 7. Relationship between Council and BSO Council Approval of 3 year plan, scope of products, and holding Chief Executive of BSO to account for delivery of plan. Monitoring of professional standards. Nursing, AHP Education Unit Leadership and Organisational Development Unit BSO C.Ex is the Accountable Officer and responsible for line management, performance management, BSO is the employer of staff. The relationship between the Council and BSO within BSO are set out in the diagram above. The key relationship is that the Council will hold the Chief Executive of BSO to account for the delivery of the 3 year plan and the development of products and services. There will also be a role for the Council to monitor the professional standards particularly in the Nursing/AHP Unit. There will be other external means of monitoring standards of these units.

6 8. Management and Accountability Arrangements within BSO BSO Board Chief Executive BSO Head of Nursing, AHP Education Unit Head of Leadership and Organisational Development Unit Staff of Unit Staff of Unit 9. Branding and Marketing of the New Arrangements 9.1 The consultation document recognised that there would be a need to rebrand these services after the merger. It is proposed that BSO would consult with stakeholders and bring proposals to the Department and the Council on new names of the units. 10 Timing of the Changes 10.1 As stated in the first paragraph it is intended to transfer staff to the BSO on 1 July It will take longer to review and reorganise the functions and come up with new names and identities. There will need to be a process of engagement with staff as the reorganisation of these services takes place. 28 April 2011