A former health secretary likened NHS Tayside to a “basket case” as he demanded the board are “hauled over the coals” for their incompetence.
SNP MSP Alex Neil launched a furious broadside on senior management at the troubled health board, who he said had left patients vulnerable to “very deep cuts” to services.
He also called for Health Secretary Shona Robison’s most senior civil servant and Tayside’s management to be pulled before MSPs to explain how savings can be made without damaging services.
Tayside has to find an unprecedented £58m of savings this financial year, while owing the Scottish Government £20m from emergency loans, according to a grim Audit Scotland report.
Meanwhile, the board is set to plunge £12m into the red this year amid heavy reliance on expensive agency staff.
Speaking at Holyrood’s health committee, Mr Neil said he cannot see how the savings can be made without cutting back on services.
“You can’t just say to patients in Tayside, because of the incompetence of your board, we are going to hammer you in terms of service cuts. I mean, it’s just not sustainable,” he said.
“In terms of the risk in this it seems to me that if this was the private sector it would be a basket case.”
He added: “Has anyone been hauled over the coals for this because this is really rank bad management by people who have been paid extremely well?”
Kenny Wilson, from PricewaterhouseCoopers, who have helped Audit Scotland with their inquiry into Tayside’s finances, said he was not aware of anyone at the health board paying any sort of penalty.
“The board recognises the challenges and they have taken that on board and are discussing quite regularly with the Scottish Government how they can address these challenges,” he said.
“But no-one as far I’m aware has been held to account for anything that’s happened in the past.”
Mr Neil, who succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as health secretary, added: “I think we need to invite in both the board and the government’s Paul Gray (director general of health and social care at the Scottish Government) on this because I just don’t see how you are going to get anywhere near the requirement in terms of repaying the money and making the savings without very deep cuts in service provision, which I would have thought would be unacceptable to the patients in Tayside.”
Questioned on what scope there is in terms of job losses to meet demands for cost-cutting, Mr Wilson said that Tayside has higher levels of clerical and administrative staff than other boards do.
Caroline Gardner, the auditor general, said there is “no reason” why the Scottish Government could not drop the £20m debt they are owed from NHS Tayside.
She added: “They would have to think of the impact on Tayside and the wider health service, but it is within their discretion.”
Speaking after the meeting Jenny Marra MSP, convener of the public audit committee, said it is clear there are “very significant challenges ahead”.
“We intend to hold a formal meeting of the public audit committee in Dundee in order to hold the most senior NHS Tayside officials to account for their actions,” she added.
“There may be significant implications for NHS workers and health service users in Tayside, so we will want to hear their views as well.”
NHS Tayside has been asked for comment.
