NHS Grampian is facing an “extremely challenging” financial position, a report has revealed.
The health board will be forced to find short-term saving options as it is on course to overspend by £82.5 million this financial year.
The difficult situation will be discussed at a meeting of the board on Thursday.
As well as talking through the financial report, members will be asked to approve measures to save money – including cutting back on bank nursing, overtime and locums.
The financial report indicates that NHS Grampian is set to surpass the budget by the largest amount in terms of value, ranking fourth in terms of percentage overspend.
Alex Stephen, the head of finance, has outlined several factors contributing to the anticipated budget overrun. These include the growing complexity of healthcare delivery due to longer life expectancies, the expenses associated with new technologies, medications, and services, and difficulties in hiring staff, which have led to increased expenditure on temporary workers. He also pointed out the rising costs of energy and the failure of funding to keep pace with inflation.
It will be communicated to the board that there is potential for additional savings to bring the overspending down to approximately £65 million. However, there is a risk that the Scottish Government might subject the board to more rigorous oversight in the coming years if the budget deficit is not further mitigated.
As part of his chief executive report, Adam Coldwells will tell board members: “For NHS Grampian, which has a proven track record for financial rigour, not being able to set a balanced revenue budget is incredibly frustrating and will require some challenging decisions to be made over the months ahead.
“However, we remain committed to making these whilst balancing our financial position with our responsibility to patients and staff whilst working towards prevention of illness.”
During the meeting, the board will also be updated on The Baird and Anchor Project which is at an “important stage” in construction.
However, the budget for the £26.1m project “remains under pressure”.
