NHS boards ‘not always honest with the public’

The majority of members of Scotland’s NHS health boards believe they are not always honest with the public about their decisions, a survey has revealed.

Almost 60 per cent of health board members admitted they were not always “open and transparent” with the public about major changes affecting patients.

In a survey submitted to MSPS on Holyrood’s health committee, one anonymous board member claimed the debate with the public was “fundamentally dishonest”.

The research was conducted by the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre, with 126 NHS health board members – about half of the national total – responding. Some 59 per cent said they were “mostly”, “sometimes” or “hardly ever” transparent about their decision making, with only 40 per cent saying this was always the case.

One wrote: “We are terrible at admitting that we are financially constrained and pretend that decisions are based on clinical grounds when in most cases they are based on clinical, staffing and financial elements.

“The debate with the public is therefore fundamentally dishonest (and the public are not stupid).”

Some board members also complained that they had little control over their strategic direction as the Scottish Government was “so dominant in the delivery of healthcare”.