NHS Fife finances

A DUNFERMLINE councillor wants Fife Council to ask the Scottish Government how they can help with the “enormous black hole” in NHS Fife finances.

Health chiefs last week revealed that finances have “probably never been under more strain” after the board admitted they expect to be overspent by £23 million by the end of the financial year.

By September 30, they were already £16m in the red, an increase of £5m in just two months, with a warning it’s set to get worse by next March and that it’s “highly likely” they’ll need a bail-out from the Scottish Government.

The ongoing costs of supplementary staffing and surge capacity the NHS’ ability to handle patient/ care influx as well as inflation and cost of living pressures as well as Covid ‘legacy’ costs have all been blamed for the situation.

Councillor James Calder will raise the financial crisis at a today’s Fife Council meeting when he will bring forward a motion asking the Council leader to write to the Scottish Health Secretary to ask what support they will provide.

“There is an enormous black hole in NHS Fife’s finances, and this is endemic of the issues that the NHS is facing across Scotland,” he said.

“With people already struggling to access services, there will be understandable worries amongst Fife residents about this huge overspend. The Scottish Government need to get its act together and sort out this crisis in our NHS. I hope councillors can unite to send a message to the Scottish Health Minister that they need to step in and protect local NHS services.”