Health service in region facing near £20 million budget cut.

Other money-saving options include cutting admin workforce

Fife’s health service is facing a near £20 million budget cut by the end of the financial year.

Health officials have warned they will have to reduce their use of bank and agency staff, which cost the board £16m last year, as they strive to meet an “ongoing financial challenge”.

NHS Fife’s deputy director of finance Rose Robertson said other money savings options, including cuts to admin staff and the use of new technology, were continuing to be explored as the deadline of the end of March next year approaches.

She told a board meeting this week that the service has already overspent by £1.4m in the first four months of the current financial year.

Ms Robertson said there was a drive for improved financial efficiency and savings across NHS Scotland and the Fife board is required to make an estimated cash saving of £19.65m in 2018/19.

The financial difficulties should ease somewhat later in the year, however, as NHS Fife expects to receive a share of a national £303m investment by the Scottish Government.

It is not yet known how much the region will be given but it is expected to be a key component in meeting patient demand, modernising primary care and improving mental health services.

A report to the board said: “Notwithstanding this funding, there remain ongoing financial challenges and NHS Fife will require to consider how it can support its workforce to work differently, providing services in new and innovative ways to ensure long-term sustainability... and reduce the requirement for supplementary bank and agency staff use.”

NHS Fife spent £8.46m on agency staff for the year ending March 31, up 16.4% on the previous year.

More than half the amount went on securing consultants and speciality doctors.

A further £7.5m was spent on supplementary nurses and midwives via the internal nurse bank, mainly in the acute service – an increase of 13.3% on the previous year.

This was put down to winter pressures, vacancies and higher levels of sickness.

The report added: “Minimising this cost pressure will require a concerted effort to move away from external agency providers to an internal bank system where remuneration is more closely linked to NHS pay scales.”

Director of workforce Barbara Ann Nelson said staff sickness levels were still a challenge.

She added: “It’s pleasing to note that in February, March and April there was a decrease and we continue to take targeted action in that area.”

There remain ongoing financial challenges and NHS Fife will require to consider how it can support its workforce to work differently