Moray and Aberdeenshire NHS cuts worth millions agreed after Scottish Government pressure
NHS Grampian has agreed to cut another £17.5 million from its budgets under pressure from the Scottish Government, with “very, very difficult decisions” on the horizon.
Agreed at a board meeting on Thursday, the savings plan was drawn up after NHS Grampian predicted it would have the biggest budget shortfall of any Scottish health board - totalling £82.5 million.
That is nearly 40 per cent more than the £59 million figure it submitted to the government earlier this year.
Meeting documents show that Dr Gray’s Hospital overspent by more than £4 million in the four months up to July 2024.
Between June and July, the hospital’s shortfall increased by more than £1 million.
In response, NHS Grampian was ordered to take “immediate action to improve the position” and reverse the ballooning cash gap.
The agreed savings are to be found by cutting spending on temporary bank nursing, overtime and stand-locum doctors, alongside “vacancy control”.
However, despite having already agreed £39 million of cuts this year, the new plans will still miss the Scottish Government’s target by £6 million.
A finance report presented at the meeting blames the growing cash gap on an ageing population; the cost of new technologies, medicines and services; agency staff being used to ease recruitment difficulties; rising energy costs; inflation and a lack of government funding.
NHS Grampian chief executive Adam Coldwells, who described the financial situation as “extremely challenging” ahead of the meeting, said that finding savings meant striking a “very delicate balance”.
In his report presented to the board meeting, he said: “For NHS Grampian, which has a proven track record for financial rigour, not being able to set a balanced revenue budget is incredibly frustrating and will require some challenging decisions to be made over the months ahead.”
Speaking during the meeting, the chief executive defending NHS Grampian’s work as a “very efficient system” given the funding and population it has to deal with compared to other health boards.
Dr Coldwells also argued that potential impacts on staff and patients was always considered when deciding where to make cuts in future.
Of the decision-making process, he added: “Absolutely none of this happens in a darkened corner.”
Finance director Alex Stephen presented a 53-page report about the health board’s current situation.
He said: “The chief executive team are fully aware of the financial position - the seriousness of it, and the requirement to reduce this overspend as quickly as possible.”
While NHS Grampian’s predicted overspend is the largest of any health board in Scotland, he added argued that it was the fourth largest as a percentage of revenue.
Mr Stephen also warned that this year’s budget issues are unlikely to be a one-off - with more cuts likely to come before April and in the next financial year.
“I would say that this £82.5 million is the base as it stands at the moment,” he said.
He added: “It will be challenging to deliver some of those savings, no doubt about it.”
Board member Mark Burrell warned that “very, very difficult possible decisions” lie ahead, some of which could increase patient waiting times.
“I will say that I have some concerns as to increased waiting times,” he said.
“And that is something that will have an impact on our patients as they come through the system.”
Dr John Tomlinson also expressed concerns that if the health board fails to shrink the shortfall back to £59 million, the board could lose control over how to balance the budget.
Hitting the target, he added, could be “critical” to preserving the board’s decision-making role.
Clinical director Dr Paul Bachoo said it was important that NHS Grampian communicates well with patients while dealing with financial pressures.
“Whilst we’re downsizing and downgrading a certain amount of capacity and volume we are nevertheless increasing work in other parts of Scotland,” he added.
