NHS debt write-off seen as a 'quick fix'
THE Scottish Government’s move to write off millions of pounds of NHS Highland’s debt will be a "shot in the arm" according to a local MP.
The announcement follows an Audit Scotland report which confirmed that NHS Highland faced a funding gap in the region of £19 million to £23 million in this financial year.
Holyrood has announced that five years of the health board’s legacy debt is to be written off, with a new three-year budgetary cycle set to begin next year.
This includes £15 million of debt from last year being written off, as well as a sum to be agreed at the end of the current financial year.
In a statement, health secretary Jeane Freeman revealed that regional boards will be required to set out finance and improvement plans that break even over a three-year period, rather than the current one-year system.
If this condition is met, boards will be offered the flexibility to underspend or overspend by up to one per cent of budgets in any one year.
In order to allow more funds to be spent on patient care, the Scottish Government will not seek to recoup "brokerage" loans paid to territorial boards in the last five years.
The news has been welcomed by the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford.
"The step to remove the legacy debt from NHS Highland is a fantastic gesture by a government that is clearly committed to deliver for people in the Highlands and Islands," said the Skye, Ross and Lochaber MP. "It now presents a fantastic opportunity for the health board to press ahead with the delivery of the quality care which we already see day in and day out from the hard-working staff.
"Delivery of health and social care has to be the bedrock of our society, I am utterly delighted that this step has been taken which will benefit patients, staff and management as we work towards making the Scottish health service the very best that it can be."
However, opposition figures have warned that it is a "quick fix" and does not do enough to tackle NHS Highland’s financial struggles.
Regional Conservative MSP Edward Mountain said: "While I welcome the Scottish Government’s plans to wipe the slate clean on NHS Highland’s overspending, questions still remain on the health board’s ability to manage its own finances.
"Audit Scotland, in their damning report on NHS Highland’s finances, concluded that the health board has historically found it difficult to achieve savings on a recurring basis.
"Writing the debt off is not a long-term fix for our health services. It only buys time for the senior management of NHS Highland but it does not guarantee that more services won’t be centralised and that therapies and drugs won’t be cut."
It comes as the GMB union registered formal notification of a "collective dispute" against senior management and the NHS Highland board in the wake of bullying allegations.
In a letter sent to Ms Freeman, the GMB said the tide of complaints from employees amounted to "the most serious failure of governance from any NHS board since the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland were created".
It could lead to a strike.
Meanwhile, NHS Highland has set up a temporary confidential helpline for staff who are experiencing any difficulties within the workforce in relation to any aspect of bullying.
Dawne Bloodworth, interim director of human resources, said: "This will provide a further opportunity for any concerns to be raised."
