Government under pressure to deliver amid £1.5bn extra funding for Scotland's NHS

Economic experts say the Scottish Government must now deliver improvements to the NHS after new documents show an extra £1.5 billion is to be spent on the health service this year.

The government has published its revised 2024/25 budget which the Institute for Fiscal Studies says shows a five per cent increase in NHS spending - but adds the government must use this to bring down waiting lists and improve performance.

Michael Gillen/National World.

Speaking on BBC The Sunday Show, David Phillips, associate director at the institute, said: “This is a big injection of funding of £618 million, which is a three per cent top-up on what the Scottish Government was previously planning to spend on health.

“And this is on top of the £1bn top up in October, so it means there is about £1.5bn extra for health and social care compared to what the Scottish Government was initially planning to spend.

“There were suggestions there would be a cut after inflation of around three per cent which would be untenable in the context of significant pressures on the NHS, but this means there will instead be a five per cent increase.

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“That’s a large increase compared to the three per cent increase down south in England, so the question now is how that translates to improvements.”

This extra cash is partly coming from the £1.4bn extra being sent Holyrood’s way in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s October budget, and partly from cutting spending in other Scottish departments such as net zero, rural affairs and higher education.

Around £350m of the cash coming from Westminster for the NHS will be held in reserves until the end of the year in case of any unexpected financial pressures that arise.

Mr Phillips indicated a lot of this extra funding will go on pay deals for NHS staff after “bigger than expected” deals were struck for doctors’ and nurses’ pay packets.

He added: “There has been a pretty poor performance in recovery from Covid up to 2023, but we are now seeing an upturn in activity in terms of the number of tests and appointments the NHS can deliver.

“But across the UK, particularly in Scotland and Wales, we’ve seen the NHS struggle to return to pre-Covid productivity levels.

“So the big question is how to translate this money into what needs to be delivered.”

However Dr Sandesh Gulhane, a Conservative MSP and a practising GP, says his colleagues will not be happy until the “record” vacancies in the health service are filled.

He said: “All money is good news, but ultimately there is no accountability in our NHS.

“What we are going to see is money frittered away.

Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP | The Scotsman

“We tried to follow long Covid money to see where it was going to be spent and people couldn’t tell me - that’s completely unacceptable.

“What my colleagues and I are seeing on the ground is that staff are just done when it comes to the amount of work they have to do.

“All you hear from the Holyrood elite is there are record staffing levels, but that doesn’t play out.

“We have record nursing vacancies and fewer GPs than a decade ago, and that adds up to asking staff to do something that’s not sustainable.

“There is a permanent crisis and [Health Secretary] Neil Gray has gone missing and is more consumed by personal scandal.”

There have been numerous calls for Mr Gray to be sacked after taking government limos to watch football matches.

First Minister John Swinney has dismissed the calls and insists Mr Gray will still be health secretary in the autumn.

Dr Gulhane added: “If you speak to staff they will tell you how hard they are working and that the Scottish Government has abandoned them.

“Money is important, but staff want more people on the ground.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “We are determined to drive improvements, reduce waiting lists and tackle delayed discharge - all of which will improve the flow of patients through hospital and ease pressures on A&E.

“With cross-party support now agreed, our budget will provide £200m to address backlogs, improve capacity and remove blockages that keep patients in hospital longer than necessary - ensuring we can deliver the best possible service for patients.

“A commitment to these improvements was set out by the First Minister last week in the renewal plan for health and social care.

“The Scottish Government’s public audit committee and auditor general for Scotland through their independent role ensure that there is accountability for use of public funds and for delivery against key performance targets.”