Unravel NHS can of worms

IT’S a cliched phrase that has been trotted out by government politicians for years — the claim that they would be making far more progress were they not spending so much time putting right the wrongs of their predecessors (see pages 4&5).

There is a whiff of that in NHS Tayside chairman Professor John Connell’s defence of himself and his health board colleagues as they wrestle with a financial mess which seems to get worse by the day.

But to be fair to him and the rest of the board, they do appear to have been left with a can of worms which will take considerable unravelling.

But unravel it they must, and they also have to get NHS Tayside’s finances back on an even keel and keep them there for the long term.

Patients may well — as Professor Connell believes — have confidence that health services will be delivered, but they also have to be able to trust those running the board to keep the books balanced.