Urgent action is needed at NHS Tayside, report says
SCOTLAND’S public spending watchdog has reported urgent action is needed to address NHS Tayside’s financial position a nd said its p er f or mance was “deteriorating”.
Auditor general Caroline Gardner published her fourth report on the health board earlier this week, noting its worsening financial position and significant challenges to meeting its financial and performance target.
She said a service redesign was critical to reducing high staff costs and expensive operating model.
NHS Tayside has needed £50.2 million in loans from the Scottish Government since 2012/13.
Some £45.9m of this has still not been repaid although it has now been written off.
A further £12.7m of brokerage was received in 2017/18, and, according to Gardner’s analysis, more will be required.
According to the report, the board’s poor financial position is partly due to the mismanagement of eHealth and endowment fund monies in previous years.
The report highlighted a deteriorating performance, with just seven national standards out of 20 being met.
Gardner also referenced mistakes relating to the departure of former chief execut i ve Lesley McLay who l eft t he organisation in July this year with a £90,000 settlement package.
She left NHS Tayside as it was revealed charity cash had been used to upgrade the health board’s IT systems.
Since then, two more chief executives have been appointed this year and a recruitment exercise is currently under way to appoint a new chair before the end of the financial year.
Audit Scotland also revealed problems with a settlement payment to McLay. The overall sum she received included more than £ 64,000 – which equated to six months’ notice – but the report went on to note McLay’s contract had a notice period of three months.
The payout also included more than £19,000 in pension contributions that “should not have been made”, it added.
Gardner said: “NHS Tayside’s financial position has been unsustainable since 2013 and urgent action is needed to turn around the organisation.
“Changing the ways services are delivered will be critical in reducing NHS Tayside’s operating model and comparatively high staff costs.
“However, to date there is limited evidence of this happening, increasing the need for effective leadership to drive home the board’s plans for change.”
The report concluded: “The interim chief executive and chair and the new director of finances are working to review and update the processes and plans in place to address the financial pressures facing NHS Tayside.
“NHS Tayside urgently needs to set out its medium-term financial plans and how it intends to achieve service reform and further reduce its operating costs.”