Frank Zagajewski, 49, who graduated with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in December, has developed a business proposition which could drive significant business development for UK hospices, whilst saving the NHS millions.

Following the findings of his university research project, Frank suggests that hospices should look to extend their services by providing a respite care facility to terminally ill patients who require palliative care, but who are not able to currently access a hospice bed.

The new provision would not only increase hospice revenues, but it would also provide care which is often provided by critical, expensive and inappropriate care beds in hospitals. There is, therefore, the potential for major savings for Clinical Commissioning Groups within the NHS and significantly improved hospice patient care.

Frank conducted the research initially for Mary Stevens Hospice in Birmingham, but CEO Stevan Jackson believes his suggestions could have significant benefits for not only his hospice but for the industry as a whole.

“In a very short space of time Frank grasped the issues that our hospice and the sector faces and produced some interesting business suggestions which are being seriously considered in relation to our end-of-life strategy going forward,” said Mr Jackson.

“Where feasible, we hope to incorporate these into our vision for hospice care in the community we serve. I think the model that Frank has proposed is certainly something that other hospices in the UK may also like to consider, and if that happens then Frank’s work could have significant benefits on the whole sector.”

The initial aim of Frank’s consultancy project was to identify new revenue streams for Mary Stevens Hospice, through enhancing their individual patient care service offer. However, during his research Frank realised the opportunities to have a much greater impact on the UK health service.

“My main aim was to help drive significant business development opportunities for them but it became apparent during the project that there was a much bigger opportunity at hand; one that would not only increase hospice revenues but one that could significantly improve patient care around the country and save NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups a lot of money.”    

Frank was awarded the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award at the Leeds Specialist Institution Awards for his contribution to the sector, and now hopes to continue his work and support other hospice CEO’s in implementing similar models. Frank hopes that this work will be a springboard in his career ambitions to become a successful commercial management consultant. He said: 

“Now I’ve completed the Masters, I am beginning to proactively engage with targeted hospice CEO’s to look at both joint procurement programs and also by working with them to look at alternative income streams within new target markets for the hospice care sector. I hope that this will support my future career plans through offering services through a commercial management consultancy interim or project driven model.

“Winning the award was a very proud moment and allowed myself to realise the belief in doing something you value; something you believe is worthwhile; and something that will benefit others. I do owe a lot to my supporting lecturer for their extensive supervision and guidance throughout this piece of work, and there is no doubt that the key learnings from the MBA allowed myself to efficiently research a market where I had limited knowledge and transfer a set of skills underpinned by several modules undertaken.”