NHS board bailed out

£12.7m loan but Tayside must make £48m savings

NHS Tayside has been given an extra loan of £12.7 million by the Scottish Government, as the board revealed it needs to save more than £48m in the year ahead.

Members of the board’s performance and resources committee were told health bosses have requested the additional funds from Holyrood after failing to stay within budget.

In all, the service spent £12.7m more last year than it had in the bank – exceeding even its own expectations.

The previous finance director, Lindsay Bedford, told the Tele last year that he expected £4m of “brokerage” to keep the service in the black – a figure that has now more than tripled.

In all, the board now owes ministers £45.9m, but repayments are currently suspended while it deals with its financial woes – and a report issued in April suggested this could grow to £60m.

Deputy finance director Stuart Lyall said: “A continued reliance on financial brokerage is unsustainable.”

He added that Tayside’s way of running itself was “unaffordable” and that “whole system change” was required to balance the books.

Most of the overspending was blamed on pay and prescriptions, frequently held responsible for Tayside’s money troubles.

Health bosses had projected this time last year that health services across the region would have to save £40m this year and for the years after.

However, the board now says it must save £48.1m in the coming financial year – 6.5% of its annual budget.

Malcolm Wright, chief executive of NHS Tayside since April, has already promised to make the board’s finances more open and accountable.

He said earlier this year: “The scale of the financial challenge needs to be out there and understood. We’re not going to try to mask that in any way.”

NHS Tayside said today the final plan would be agreed later this month and monitored throughout the year.

The Scottish Government confirmed it had approved the additional funds, adding: “Our priority is to protect patient care and services.”

NHS boss Malcolm Wright has promised better financial accountability.