Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
More than £2.1m overspent on pay by NHS in Tayside
Mr Bedford said: “The board is running with the equivalent of three wards lost, at the cost of £3.1m, for those in for longer than 14 days.”
In addition, prescription spending sat at £5.2m over the expected budget — including £1.7 million of overspend in the Dundee area alone — and clinical supply spending is £1.8m over target.
As a whole, the current overspend sat at £11.422m as of the end of December — up from £9.981m the previous month.
Mr Bedford added: “Further significant risks and challenges remain for 2016/17. There are a number of challenges we will face along the way.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said NHS Tayside was “on track” to deliver on financial expectations this year, which allowed for an £11.7 million deficit supported with repayable financial support from Holyrood.
He added: “NHS Tayside, with the support of the Scottish Government, is taking forward a transformation programme to deliver improvements for patients while achieving increased cost effectiveness.”
However, the “worrying” overspend was slammed by Conservative North East MSP Liam Kerr, who added: “The debts are spiralling out of control and if the vast overspending continues to get worse it surely won’t be long until frontline services are hit too.”