Jamieson attacks SNP priorities as health boards face £3.6m budget cuts

Published on Saturday 14 February 2009 18:43

EIGHT of Scotland's health boards are facing budget cuts totalling £3.6m over the next year, the Labour Party has claimed.

Labour has calculated that eight of Scotland's 14 health boards will receive less cash in 2009/10 than they did last year when the inflation rate is taken into account. Using Government figures, researchers have claimed that Greater Glasgow and Clyde will suffer from a real budget fall of 1.7m. Ayrshire and Arran is in line to receive a real budget cut of 500,000.

The budget in the Borders will fall by 100,000 as will the budget in Shetland and the Western Isles. Projections for the coming financial year suggest that Tayside will be cut by 500,000, Dumfries and Galloway will drop by 200,000 and Highland will fall by 400,000.

Shadow health secretary Cathy Jamieson said: "Nicola Sturgeon has announced the lowest budget increase for Scottish health boards since devolution. It is a historically low allocation that represents a real terms cut for almost two-thirds of Scottish health boards."

Although all health boards were given a slight increase in cash, the researchers found that the percentage increases in budget for the eight health boards were below the official deflator rate of 3.25%.

Labour said the cuts would be harsher in reality because the rising cost of drugs and pay deals means that inflation is higher in the NHS than elsewhere.

Jamieson said: "The SNP's poor funding settlement will create real challenges for the NHS. It will mean that health boards are forced to cut staff numbers and find savings from frontline services.

"SNP ministers are failing to pass on the 6.7% year-on-year overall increase that the UK Government is delivering for the NHS in England. Nicola Sturgeon should tell us why she believes health is less of a priority in Scotland."

When Scotland's 14 health boards were treated as a whole, it was calculated that they would receive a real terms increase of 5.7m. Of those whose budget was increased in real terms, Fife received an extra 700,000; Forth Valley increased by 800,000; Grampian by 1.4m; Lanarkshire by 2m; Lothian by 4.4m and Orkney by 100,000.

SNP Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said Labour's figures were "wrong" and accused the party of "astonishing hypocrisy". She said: "All of Scotland's NHS boards will share record funding of more than 8.64bn next year – despite the worst funding settlement from the UK Labour Government since devolution.

"In the run-up to the 2007 election, Labour actually advocated stripping money out of Scotland's health budget and giving it to education – whereas under the SNP all efficiency savings in the NHS are reinvested in frontline health services."