NHS failings prompt call to sack health secretary

FM backs Robison over Tayside crisis

Nicola Sturgeon backed her beleaguered health secretary before the First Minister’s MSPs ranted to her about a catalogue of NHS failings.

The SNP leader offered support “to the job the health secretary is doing” in response to a call for Shona Robison to be sacked over the Tayside crisis.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard became the most senior MSP to call for Ms Robison’s head in Holyrood during First Minister’s Questions.

SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth then vented to her leader about the decision to close out-of-hours GP services in Glenrothes, Dunfermline and St Andrews.

Willie Rennie, the North East Fife MSP, highlighted the gaps in mental health care for pregnant women, before the SNP’s Sandra White expressed anger over the sudden closure of a minor injury unit in Glasgow.

Tory MSP Edward Mountain then pressed Ms Sturgeon over NHS Highland finances.

Labour said the outpouring showed Ms Robison had “completely lost control of her brief”.

Referring to the Tayside crisis, Mr Leonard told the FM: “Here we have a health board raiding charity funds to pay the bills and that is after fiddling the accounts.

“And what makes this even worse is that this all happening in Tayside under the nose of the health secretary, who is a member of parliament for Dundee.

“First minister, it’s too late for Shona Robison to be an honest broker in the NHS Tayside affair.

“Will the first minister reflect on this and will she face up to the fact that the time has come for the health secretary to go?”

The FM replied: “I will continue to give my support as first minister to the job the health secretary is doing to strengthen the leadership of the NHS Tayside board with the new chief executive and chair arrangements that have been put in place.”

Asked afterwards if the first minister had confidence in her health secretary, Ms Sturgeon’s spokesman said: “Yes.”

NHS Tayside has been rocked by two accounting scandals in recent weeks on the back of five years of failing to balance the books without government intervention.

It emerged this month that charity donations were used to cover general spending at NHS Tayside.

In March, it was revealed that digital healthcare funds worth £5.3m had been recycled since 2012, making the board’s finances look better than they were.

The total brokerage –- government bail-out loans – Tayside has required since 2013-14 is likely to exceed £45m.

Auditor General Caroline Gardner told the public audit committee warnings over NHS Tayside finances were “sounded very clearly” in the last few years, but were not “taken seriously”.

Here we have a health board raiding charity funds to pay the bills

Picture: SWNS. Nicola Sturgeon says she has confidence in Health Secretary Shona Robison.