We will identify our members' current and future needs in terms of support they require to improve their performance in key areas, where foundation trusts must strive for excellence:
- self-governing to the highest standards
- effective strategic planning and risk management
- contributing to the sustainability of the wider healthcare system
- continuous improvement at all levels – quality, efficiency, productivity and business opportunities.
In 2010/2011, we will continue to develop and strengthen our member services, ensuring that they are relevant and accessible to foundation trusts. In 2009. the FTN invested in a member engagement exercise with a broad cross-section of members to form a coherent picture of their challenges, concerns and needs over the coming years. The strong message from members was that the FTN should consolidate and refine its current memebr services offer, whilst supporting members to respond to immediate challenges.
- Commercial development
- Quality - support foundation trusts in their work on quality. A key element of this will be developing an approach to quality accounts that supports accountabilty for improvement at every level in the organisation, and enables each foundation trust to tell the story of their quality improvements involving public, patients, stakeholders and the local community.
- Governance - hold a major governance conference for senior staff from authorised and aspirant foundation trusts to explore corporate and wider governance issues, with high profile keynote speakers and extensive learning and networking opportunities.
- Benchmarking - further develop the FTN Benchmarking Programme which brings together clinicians, service managers and data leads, and helps to build a bottom-up understanding of the actual costs of individual areas.
- FT/FTSE - foster and maintain mutually beneficial links between foundation trusts and FTSE companies to share learning.
- CPD - develop a range of bespoke professional development opportunities and qualifications for FT colleagues.
- Mentoring - pilot a mentoring scheme for commercial directors to develop members' operational and strategic commercial skills so they can respond effectively to the challenges of an opening market.
- Preparation programme - continue with the DH-funded programme for aspirant trusts, to support the effective roll-out of foundation trusts whilst maintaining high standards.
- Governor development programme - provide opportunities or foundation trust governors to gain insight into national foundation trust policy and developments, share learning and good practice through the FT Governors' Development Programme, run in partnership with the FT Governors' Association.