NHS seeks new director to deliver £96m in cuts

FINANCE: Person in post will oversee a budget of £889m for Tayside

Cash-strapped NHS Tayside is on the hunt for a new finance director more than 18 months after the last permanent post holder retired under a cloud of controversy.

Lindsay Bedford retired in March last year after the health board was accused of “cooking the books” by using loans from NHS National Services Scotland to make its own accounts look better.

Although the practice began before Mr Bedford took up the role, he retired once the revelations came to light.

The health board was also embroiled in a scandal over using money donated to a charity fund to pay for IT equipment.

Although the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator said the health board had not broken the rules by using the money in this way as it advanced the health of Taysiders, the row eventually cost the then chief executive Lesley Mclay and chairman Professor John Connell their jobs.

Following Mr Bedford’s retirement, Alan Gray from NHS Grampian was drafted in to serve as director of finance on a temporary basis.

The post has been filled on an acting basis by Stuart Lyall since Mr Gray returned to his duties in Grampian.

The post is currently being advertised and offers a salary between £89,440 and £121,318 per annum.

Earlier this year, NHS Tayside chief executive Grant Archibald said he wants to reduce the health board’s spending by £96.4 million over the next three years.

Its annual budget currently stands at £889.5 million.

The job description states that the new finance director will have a “key strategic role in ensuring that NHS Tayside makes effective use of its financial resources.”

It adds the successful candidate should support the chief executive and NHS Tayside board in the effective financial stewardship of the budget of £889.5m.

The closing date for applications is November 15.

NHS Tayside has required more than £50 million worth of brokerage loans between 2012/13 and 2018 due to budget overspends.

The Scottish Government wrote off the loans, which had more than £45 million outstanding, in order to help Tayside and other health boards in similar financial predicaments return to a more stable financial position.