THE Scottish Government and health board bosses must learn lessons from the “systemic failure of governance” at NHS Tayside, a Holyrood committee said.
Members of the Public Audit Committee also warned that the cash-strapped health board – which had been bailed out with more than £50 million of government cash in recent years – would still need a “high level of support” from ministers.
NHS Tayside has come in for heavy scrutiny by the committee after the health board was hit by financial scandals in 2018.
It emerged the board had used cash from public donations to fund new technology, while a review by accountants at Grant Thornton found that since 2012 the board had “misrepresented” its financial performance, by holding money allocated for eHealth initiatives against general expenditure. Audit committee convener Jenny Marra said: “While the past can’t be changed, the Scottish Government must learn lessons to ensure these kinds of issues don’t emerge again.”
She spoke out after the committee report found: “The events that came to light in 2018 revealed a systemic failure of governance at NHS Tayside.”
MSPs added it was “disappointing” that it had taken the two financial scandals to trigger action, adding that the health board and the Scottish Government should have dealt with the issues “in the preceding years”. The report accepted health services are “under significant pressure” in a tight financial environment but said NHS Tayside’s financial position had been unsustainable as far back as 2012-13.
The committee’s “principal concern” was that “the performance of NHS Tayside, along with that of all boards, is “significantly improved”.
The report added: “NHS Tayside still has much work to do to restore the public’s trust in its ability to manage its finances so patients can feel confident that they will receive the level of care that they need.”
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