NHS Tayside will need another Scottish Government bailout, MSPs have been told.
The cash-strapped health board has required brokerage totalling £36 million from ministers for the past four years and has a gap of just over £58 million between expenditure and income for the current financial year.
Christine McLaughlin, director of health finance at the Scottish Government confirmed another £4 million will be loaned next year.
Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee heard that NHS Tayside bosses have been set the target of making more than £90 million of savings this year and next – £46.75 million in 2016/17 and £45.8 million in 2017/18.
NHS Tayside Chairman Professor John Connell said: “The plan forecasts a return to break-even position in 2018/19 and a brokerage repayment plan will be agreed with Scottish Government for subsequent years.”
Meanwhile, it also emerged during the session that senior management at the board make judgements on their colleagues performances which lead to recommendation of performance related pay hikes.
Prof Connell recommended that Lesley McLay, the board’s chief executive, receive remuneration despite the crisis while she endorsed extra money for its finance director Lindsay Bedford.
Liam Kerr, the committee’s deputy convener, said: “This seems an incredible situation for a health board that has suffered from a catalogue of failure in recent years.”
A health board spokeswoman said the payments for senior managers and executives are based on delivery of a number of criteria, which includes finance, clinical and patient services and the delivery of safe and effective care.
They are signed off by the independently chaired national performance management committee.
