How patient care adds up for Jamil
THERE is high demand for trainee and experienced finance staff in the NHS, where finance careers are about more than just money.
‘NHS finance staff often work closely with medical staff, and have a strong sense of making a difference,’ says Cynthia Parker, managing director of CY Executive Resourcing. Jamil Mohammad, a senior management accountant at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, says: ‘While studying finance and accounting at university, I gained a placement at the Royal Free Hospital. It was a challenge and I was later offered a job.
‘NHS finance issues are huge at present, but there is nowhere else that every financial decision you make must guarantee no compromise is made to patient safety, quality of care and patient experience.’
Karen Hamilton, head of finance performance improvement and development at The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, says: ‘Demand outstrips supply for financial staff.
‘We look for candidates with finance experience, and qualified or partqualified accountants.’ The NHS also offers extra training. The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) also shows that 56 per cent of NHS finance staff have, or are studying for, a formal finance qualification.
You can get into NHS finance on its graduate trainee scheme, or as an apprentice, with two GCSEs including English and maths, plus IT skills and customer service or office experience.
NHS Finance is also interested in candidates with finance qualifications such as those from the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) or the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).