Watchdog issues NHS Tayside and NHS 24 cash concerns

The spending watchdog said there was a "significant risk" NHS Tayside would require a further bailout

NHS Tayside faces a budget deficit of more than £11.6m this year and has no plan in place to address it, according to Scotland's spending watchdog.

Caroline Gardner said there was a risk the authority would need a government bailout, despite receiving more than £24.3m from ministers since 2012.

She also cited problems around a new IT system for financial issues at NHS 24.

Ms Gardner said failure to launch the system successfully meant costs were now running 73% over budget.

In her report, the auditor general said NHS Tayside had received more than £5m from the Scottish government this year to alleviate pressure arising from staffing and prescription costs and hitting performance targets.

But she added: "As well as the need to repay this support, the board has set an unprecedented savings target of £58.4m for 2016/17.

"At the same time it is forecasting a potential deficit of £11.6m and does not currently have plans in place that fully address this gap.

"Based on its financial performance to date, there is a significant risk it will require financial aid again in order to break even."

In regard to the out-of-hours service NHS 24, she said they had "invested significantly" to implement a new IT system over the past six years.

However, the crisis-hit project, which is now expected to cost £131.2m, will not be fully rolled out across Scotland until the end of next year.

Ms Gardner said the delays created risks that the service would not meet future financial targets, which would largely depend on efficiency savings.

She said: "Each of these health boards is experiencing prolonged and considerable challenges which continue to have an impact on the way they operate and deliver services.

The NHS 24 IT system is now expected to cost £131.2m and is four years late

"While action is under way to try and address these issues, there's no quick fix available and recovery will take time.

"It's important that the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish government closely monitor progress to ensure circumstances do not worsen, to the detriment of staff and service users."

In response to the report, NHS Tayside chief executive Lesley McLay said that while the financial challenges faced by the board were "extremely important", there were "other key issues" which needed to be addressed.

She added: "These include caring for a population where people are living longer and with more medical conditions and care needs, increasing demands on all our services year on year, rising prescribing costs, a large and ageing estate here in Tayside and recruitment issues."

She said that NHS Tayside was building a "five-year transformative programme" to drive change in the health authority and that the local community should be assured that "delivering person-centred and safe health services is our priority".

The auditor general is due to report on the overall financial health and performance of the NHS in Scotland later this month.

'Brutal' report

The Scottish Conservatives said NHS Tayside and NHS 24 were suffering from the SNP doing a "dreadful job".

Donald Cameron, the party's health spokesman, said: "This report details tens of millions of pounds that have been poured down the drain.

"That's cash which could have been spent on staff, repairing crumbling hospitals, or funding vital drugs."

Scottish Labour called it a "brutal" report for the Scottish government, saying the Health Minister Shona Robinson would now need to address the "huge cuts" to come at NHS Tayside.

The Scottish Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats have also criticised the government over the report.

Long-term plan

Ms Robison said the Scottish government took the report "very seriously".

"Patient safety is our top priority and at no point has this been compromised," she said.

"We have been working closely with NHS 24 to bring the Future Programme back on track. NHS 24 has fully acknowledged there were weaknesses in the past and has worked hard to strengthen the programme's governance arrangements.

"I am pleased that this positive progress is noted by the auditor general, who acknowledges that reasonable steps are being taken to mitigate the risk of further delay."

The minister added: "I acknowledge the issues that the auditor general raises in her report with regard to NHS Tayside and I welcome the fact that the board is putting in place a long-term plan to return to sustainable financial balance.

"The Scottish government will continue to work closely with the board to monitor their progress as they work to strengthen their financial position."