29.03.19
NHS Highland to ask Scottish Government to plug £17m budget overspend
NHS Highland is expecting an overspend of £17m in 2018-19 and has agreed to ask the Scottish Government to plug its funding deficit.
A need for temporary staff and consultants to fill vacancies are among the factors impacting the latest overspend, and the health board reports that it already needs to make £6.8M savings to deliver a balanced budget for 2019-20.
NHS Highlands also had an overspend of £15m last year, but its vice-chairwoman Melanie Newdick said the board was optimistic about its future financial position, especially with a new chief executive Iain Stewart and chairman Boyd Robertson.
She said there are “quite a few differences between this time last year and now” and a “whole new management structure” in order to deal with these issues.
She added: “It is a disappointing and frustrating situation to be in, but a lot of changes going forward into the new year.”
At the start of the year the health board needed to make over £50m in savings in order to balance its budget.
Over £30m was identified through the annual operational plan followed by a further £2m, meaning the board needs to ask the government to provide £17m for its to break even for the year.
NHS Highland chief executive Iain Stewart said: “We will have to go to the government at the end of the financial year, which is the end of this week and, at the moment, we will be going to get £17 million.”
An audit report from Audit Scotland in October raised “serious reservations” over NHS Highland and NHS Ayrshire and Arran who at the time had a combined deficit of £38m which will be filled by the government.
The auditor general reported “significant financial challenges” and said she had serious reservations about the ability of the health boards to make the changes needed to achieve a financial balance in future.
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