Health bosses declare overspend of nearly £2.5 million

Health chiefs in Argyll and Bute will declare an end-of-year overspend of nearly £2.5 million as a dispute over service levels remains unresolved.

The area’s health and social care partnership (HSCP) has announced in a report its position for 2019/20 includes a provision of £1.32m for health services.

This is due to an impasse over a service level agreement with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), which provides services at hospitals in Alexandria, Greenock, Paisley and Glasgow to people who live within Argyll and Bute.

Also included is a £1.16m overspend on social work.

The HSCP’s integration joint board (IJB) considered the paper at a meeting conducted via Skype last Wednesday, May 27.

The report, by head of finance and transformation Judy Orr, said: ‘It is clear the failure to deliver on all savings is the key driver in the overspend of £2.446m, apart from the dispute with NHSGGC. Although we now have permanent heads of service in post across all areas which will assist, efforts are being hampered by the need to prioritise responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.’

One of the recommendations in the report asked board members to ‘instruct chief officer Joanna McDonald to bring back further information on the negotiations within NHSGGC for board approval’.

Councillor Kieron Green, the IJB’s chairman, added: ‘It is a question of how hard we can push for it at this time.’ Ms Orr responded: ‘The urgency of it has had to be deferred while we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.’