PROJECT CASE STUDY 2

Injury Benefits Scheme
NHS BSA Pensions Division

The Project

A review of the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme (IBS) instigated by the Pensions Ombudsman in 2003 identified that the scheme had been wrongly applied since it first began, in its current form, in 1972.  

The Review involved all 23,735 cases on record and found three separate areas in which mistakes in administering the scheme had been made:

· levels of injury benefit (IB) payments to a number of claimants had been incorrect
· some applications for PIB that should have been accepted could have been rejected
· claims decisions notified to PIB applicants were technically legally invalid

Work to rectify this situation was begun in April 2007 and the reassessment of every case was undertaken including complex calculations to adjust for time-indexed effects of applicant incomes, benefits and compensation claims. The project was subject to internal and external audit, tight deadlines and Department of Health approval.

Our Input

Brooks Gamble Ltd was involved in the recalculation of IB payments (rectifying the first point identified in the review). Information for the scheme was stored in a huge volume of paper files with a minimal amount of data stored in a legacy Paradox database. 

The first step in the reassessment was for us, working alongside IBS administrators and system users to develop a database for the manual input of this data using an Oracle/APEX solution. To ensure that errors in data input did not occur during the transfer from the paper documents to the system a double-entry data validation system using timeline creation and cross-checking was built.

Further to the database design and data entry system we developed the software and a user-friendly browser interface for the calculation suite based on new Department of Health rules incorporating compound interest payments, indexed increase to pension payments, complex data cross-checking and management reporting. The project was delivered in 8 months, on schedule.

The Client’s View

“This high profile project was subject to great scrutiny; it was essential therefore that it be delivered to specification and on-time. Brooks Gamble Ltd worked well with our own staff, understood the issues we faced right from the start and played a large part in the project’s success.”

“Particular strengths were demonstrated in rapid assimilation of information, identification of problems and their solutions, proactive engagement with the project and excellent communication with administrators and end-users.”

“The system delivered was robust and user-friendly, met all the required criteria surpassing expectations in performance, flexibility and efficiency.”

LINDA BATES – Team Manager, Pensions Division

NHS BSA, Fleetwood, Lancashire