FINANCE bosses at the Royal Bolton Hospital have achieved their ‘Mo Farah moment’ – by managing to complete their monthly budget reports in one day.

The hospital’s accounting staff were named finance team of the year in the North West at the Healthcare Financial Management Association awards 2015.

For years the team completed their monthly accounts between the 13th and the 16th of the month, too late for budget-holders to scrutinise the statements and make proactive business decisions.

In August 2013 the team was given the challenge of completing the monthly reporting process in one working day, issuing reports on the first of each month.

Many other organisations accept working day three as best practice for the monthly reports, but the Royal Bolton’s team has now been achieving the impossible since October 2013.

Bolton is the first NHS Trust to achieve and sustain one working day reporting – letting managers make better-informed decisions about budget management.

Simon Worthington, the trust’s director of finance, said: “This project was a call to action, both for finance and the organisation.

“It was our Mo Farah gold-winning moment, and we did it.

“Raising our game was not enough, we needed to be the best to show ourselves and others what we are capable of.”