Business Continuity Plans.

Business continuity planning is a process used to create systems of prevention and recovery
designed to deal with potential threats to an organisation. Any event that could impact
negatively on operations should be included in the plan. E.g. Loss of or damage to items of
infrastructure (machinery, computers, etc), interruption of supply chains. A Business
Continuity Plan gives a range of disaster scenarios and the steps the business will take to get
back to normal trading. These are usually compiled with the input of key staff and
stakeholders to ensure all scenarios are covered.

There is a classic 4-step approach to continuity planning which is:

Step 1: Where are we now.

Step2: Where do we want to get to.

Step 3: How are we going to get there.

Step 4: How will we know when we have got there.

Another method is the PESTLE Method, this stands for:

Political: This looks at how much the Government may influence the economy of a
business. Within the NHS this is one of the most crucial areas.

Economic: Looks at the economy’s performance in relation to the business. Again this is a
crucial factor within the NHS.

Social: These factors look at the different social trends within the target market to ascertain
where demand may drop or increase.

Technological: These look at advances in technology that can make the business run more
efficiently or can help competitors get “an edge”.

Legal: The legal factors are very important to consider, particularly within the NHS as any
breaches of the law can incur serious restrictions, both financially and operationally.

Environmental: These are factors that will show the impact the business has on the
environment, not just physically but with noise pollution, parking, and various other factors.
In my opinion this method is far superior to just doing a SWOT analysis of the business as
SWOT does not incorporate as much Plan – Do – Review as the PESTLE Method.

I have used this approach within a project I have been involved with over the past year. I
started working in a brand new department and was given the role of managing data quality
within the Patient Administration System, as the data we submit determines the level of
payment we receive. Certain departments were not recording data correctly i.e. wrong
spelling of patient names, associating wrong GP with patients, and much more. We looked
at the situation and developed reports, which were compared to the national databases and
any discrepancies were highlighted. In the process of correcting the mistakes, I was also
able to identify the people who had made them, and look for any recurring themes within
these mistakes. Once these had been identified we were able to draw up a plan of training
which was targeted towards the individuals that needed it most instead of using a
“scattergun” approach. The need for this was identified by the Information Department
auditing the amount of challenges we received from our Commissioning Groups. As a result
of this project we are now in the top 5% of NHS Trusts when it comes to Data Quality. This
data also helps NHS England to identify trends of illnesses across social and cultural
backgrounds and therefore helps with the targeting of funding within the organisation.
Once the training had been implemented we noted on the reports that, due to the high
turnover of staff within certain departments, we had to keep the project in place to monitor
the performance. Below is a screenshot of some of the reports used on a daily basis.

The present day climate within the NHS means that each Trust has to make as much profit
as possible from their commissioning groups, within set boundaries. By not submitting the
correct data we were losing out on monies which were rightfully ours. This project was
implemented to ensure the maximum amount of money was obtained from the
Commisioning Groups for the work carried out. Enabling The Trust to declare a year end
profit, when 90% of NHS Trusts are declaring a massive loss, boosts morale for staff, as they
can see that their long term future is more secure and they believe in what they are trying
to achieve.

The introduction of the new department was due, in part, to an Organisational Change
within General Services. There were many barriers to this change as people who had been
in one job for many years were suddenly faced with having to adapt their skills or learn new
ones. There were also many legislative barriers which had to be overcome, i.e. reviews,
consultation periods and interviews for new posts. Throughout all of this there had to be a
clear vision given to everyone involved as to why this change was necessary. This was done
by management liaising very closely with HR, Unions and the workforce themselves.

Whilst we have greatly improved the data quality within the Trust’s Patient Administration
System, I would personally liked to have seen a better rapport between departments.
Certain areas were determined that we were “Out to get them”, despite assertions that we
were just identifying training demands. I think a “Liaison Officer” to speak for all
departments might have been a good idea. We have made a great improvement to the
quality of the data on our systems and are now, whilst monitoring what we’ve done already,
moving on to other areas to improve the business plan.