Trust Board Febuary 2010 - Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals

SWBTB (2/10) 045 (a)
5. NON FINANCIAL OPTION APPRAISAL
5.1 Non Financial Evaluation Criteria and Scores
The identified benefit criteria (see table 2 above) were used as evaluation criteria to assess the long list
of options in order to agree a short list to go forward for a more detailed option appraisal and public
consultation. The benefit relating to the value for money of the stand alone Birth Centre was not
included as an evaluation criteria as this is covered in the financial analysis.
A long list of seven options were then evaluated against the evaluation criteria by the .Project Steering
Group and subsequently reviewed by an extended Reference Group. The long list was also shared with
a small group of stakeholders and users through an event for potential service users, who currently
reside in Sandwell and HoBtPCT areas at which users were invited to evaluate each of the 7 options.
Four of the evaluation criteria scored by the Project Steering Group (continuity of care, safe care,
ensure that the future workforce is fit for purpose, value for money of the stand alone Birth Centre) were
excluded as criteria for the stakeholder evaluation as it was felt that stakeholders would not have the
knowledge to be able to score these.
A short list of options was drawn up based on support for the option (in the form of at least 50% of the
total possible score) from at least two of the Steering Group, Reference Group and Stakeholder/User
event. The Project Steering Group considered whether to weight the evaluation criteria but decided
against this on the basis that the number and range of criteria gave sufficient emphasis to the criteria
that would have attracted a higher weighting (i.e. clinical safety, public confidence, etc). A retrospective
sensitivity analysis with weighted criteria has since been undertaken and produced the same results in
terms of short listed options.
The original short list was further amended to take account of feedback from the pre-engagement work
with users and the advice from the Working Group of the Joint Health Scrutiny Committee. This resulted
in the addition of option 2 to the short listed options and removal of the Do Minimum option from the
short listed options.
The scores (un-weighted) for the three short listed options that have been consulted on and the Do
Minimum option are summarised in table 4.
Table 4: Option Scores
Benefit Description
Promotion of normality
in birth
Option Scores
Maximum Score Do
Option 1 Option 2 Option 3
Possible Minimum
8 2 5 5 7
Safe care 8 2 6 3 7
Continuity of care 4 2 3 1 4
Better care closer to
home
Increased choice and
control for service
users
8 4 1 3 4
8 2 1 3 4
Improved
experience
patient
8 3 4 4 5
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