Labour urges inquiry into health board cuts

Published on Saturday 22 November 2008 18:37

AN investigation by Scotland's financial watchdog is needed to make sure frontline hospital services are not cut in a bid to make Government savings, it was warned last night.

Labour has urged Audit Scotland to examine the finances of NHS Lanarkshire, which has to knock 47m from its budget between now and 2011 as part of a drive to cut more than 500m from the Scottish NHS budget.

Cathy Jamieson, the shadow health secretary, made the call after a response to a Freedom of Information request indicated that some savings are to be made from acute and primary care services.

The savings are needed to meet the SNP's demand for an overall cut of 2% in health board spending over the next three years across Scotland.

The efficiency savings amount to at least 154m from the 2008-09 budget, 160m from the 2009-10 budget and 200m in 2010-11.

Other health boards have provided more detail to FOI requests tabled by Labour, admitting they are making savings from staff turnover, maternity and orthopaedic services, reorganising out-of-hours services and reviewing women and children's services.

Jamieson said: "I have got no confidence in the budget process at NHS Lanarkshire. They have been unable to provide any details of where they plan to save 15m, except that the cuts will fall on acute and primary care operating divisions. This means the axe will fall on frontline services.

"I will be writing to Audit Scotland to demand an urgent investigation into NHS Lanarkshire, but the financial pressures facing the NHS should also concern the Scottish Government. Nicola Sturgeon is imposing these so-called efficiency savings on health boards so should tell us where she thinks the money should come from. Cuts in the number of nurses and pressure on services, such as cancer care and maternity units, are simply unacceptable."

Professor Arthur Midwinter, an expert in public finance who has examined the responses Labour received from health boards, said: "They have not provided us with costings of individual savings. I think it is pretty shambolic and it leads to more suspicions that efficiency savings are just a guise under which cuts are being made."

A spokesman for NHS Lanarkshire said: "We find Ms Jamieson's comments astonishing – particularly when NHS Lanarkshire is in a very healthy financial position. Furthermore, Audit Scotland, in reviewing the financial performance of boards in December 2007, acknowledged NHS Lanarkshire's achievement in successfully clearing a cumulative budget deficit of 20m.

"This robust financial planning has allowed us to achieve a budget surplus in 2007/08 of 11.7m and a further projected 3m budget surplus in this financial year. It was made very clear in our response to their enquiry how this surplus will be achieved. It was also emphasised that there will be no cuts to frontline services."

A spokesman for Sturgeon said: "This is total garbage and the height of hypocrisy from the Labour Party. The reality is that, despite the funding squeeze from Westminster, the SNP Government is investing record amounts of cash in the NHS – an additional 1.5bn over the next three years rising to a record 11.5bn by 2010-11 – and all health boards are being allowed to reinvest their two per cent efficiency savings in front-line services."