Health chiefs ‘misled’ over NHS Tayside’s finances

NHS bosses were ‘misled’ over the state of a health board’s finances, MSPs were told yesterday.

Health chiefs faced a grilling by Holyrood’s public audit committee after the emergence of fresh financial irregularities at troubled NHS Tayside.

Last year, it needed a £33.2million bailout from the Scottish Government and may need a further £12million this year.

It has also ‘misrepresented’ its financial performance by holding onto £5.3million allocated for ‘eHealth’ IT projects.

NHS Scotland chief executive Paul Gray said he was ‘very unhappy’ but there had been ‘deliberate obscuring’ of information from board members.

A review carried out by accountant Grant Thornton concluded there was a ‘lack of openness, governance and wider transparency’ over transactions between 2012 and 2017.

Mr Gray said: ‘These transactions were carried out in a way which was intended to obscure them from the board of NHS Tayside and that is what happened.

‘Checks and balances will deal with it up to a point but we’re reliant on honesty and integrity.’

Asked by Nationalist MSP Colin Beattie if that had been absent, he added: ‘The knowledge was contained in a particular way and wasn’t passed on.’

Mr Beattie said: ‘So the board effectively was misled?’ ‘I would say so,’ Mr Gray replied. Health Secretary Shona Robison said: ‘This is a serious situation and the Scottish Government will continue to work with NHS Tayside to provide brokerage, ensure stability and protect patient care.’