Building a business case

 It is important for you to be able to show how the services you provide:

• are value for money,
• satisfy a local need and impact the local population,
• help to achieve wider health targets and outcomes.

There is a great deal of advice available on business case development. The following information has been developed specifically for a physiotherapy audience.

Making your case

Building a strong business case for your physiotherapy services will involve:

Understanding your current service.

An in-depth knowledge of your service and the context it operates in will help you define what needs to change. It will also help identify your unique selling point (USP).

Knowing your key stakeholders

You must know how the NHS and other organisations are commissioning or planning health services in your area. This includes knowing who those in key leadership roles are and how they make decisions.

You also need to understand your stakeholders' priorities. This will help you establish and sustain strong relationships with them and gain their support.

Sharing your information and data

It is not enough to collect data. Your data should be able to show the benefits that physiotherapy can bring to all aspects of your patient’s journey.

Showing how physiotherapy adds value

You should demonstrate the real impact physiotherapy has on improving not just quality of care and the patient experience, but also its valuable, cost effective contribution to the overall delivery of healthcare.

Highlighting the impact of your service on the wider healthcare environment

Presenting a convincing business case for your service will highlight its impact in terms of financial gain for the wider healthcare organisation and the contribution to local priorities. This will engage your key decision makers and increase the likelihood of investment in your service and any improvements you propose.

A series of downloadable documents are available to assist you with the process of business case development.

These documents are historical material but it is felt they continue to be useful as guidance. They are attached here whilst other material is being planned. It is important to take this in context and review other more up to date and local examples alongside this.

The documents cover:

• Developing a successful business case
• Business case proforma
• Written business case examples
• Expert panel feedback on business proposals