Angus South Constituency MSP Graeme Dey has welcomed a new deal for health boards which has wiped out debts they had run up and given them more flexibility to continue delivering quality care.
In a statement to Parliament, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Jeane Freeman announced that NHS territorial boards will now be required to set out finance and improvement plans that break even over a three-year period. Currently plans are assessed over one year.
If this condition is met, boards will be offered the flexibility to underspend or overspend by up to 1% 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 paid to territorial boards in the last five years.
Ms Freeman was speaking as she announced a new medium term financial framework for Scotland’s health and social care. The document sets out the twin approach of investment and reform to meet the increasing demands expected on our health and care system.
Mr Dey said:
“The Cabinet Secretary’s announcement that the Scottish Government will not seek to recover NHS territorial boards’ outstanding brokerage – the expenditure incurred by territorial Boards over the last five years which has been above their budget-will ensure that NHS Tayside can make a fresh start with its new leadership team.
“NHS Tayside must be able to focus its attention on providing excellent patient care in line with the financial framework and respecting the legitimate aspirations of local communities.
“I hope this deal, coming as it does against a backdrop of record levels of investment in the NHS by the Scottish Government, will for example see NHS Tayside move forward quickly in providing Angus with a modern maternity facility located in Arbroath-something I have been pressing the board for.
“Whilst the NHS in England, under the charge of an increasingly chaotic Conservative Government, is in genuine crisis-here in Scotland the SNP is investing to meet the common challenges facing the sector.’’
