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Daily Record
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
New Ayrshire & Arran health board chief executive sets out his stall
The new top man at NHS Ayrshire & Arran has spoken for the first time. The new temporary boss of NHS Ayrshire & Arran has set his sights on helping make improvements as he appeared at a board meeting for the first time. Ayrshire-born Professor Gordon James, who joined NHS Golden Jubilee in December 2022, took up his position at NHS Ayrshire & Arran on August 1. He takes the place of incumbent Claire Burden, who is on extended leave. Professor James told Monday's meeting of the NHS Board: 'Thanks to everyone I have met over the last week and a day. You have been nothing but welcoming to me. I would like to say thank you to them. "I was born in Ayrshire Central Hospital and went to school in Kilmarnock so I know Ayrshire welI and am delighted to be here and to work in a team. "I was at healthcare governance last week and also in the Kyle Ward chemotherapy unit which has a fantastic service and saw the new garden which was opened in July. 'My short term ambition was to meet the team and go out and about and be visible. I have a number of visits set up including urology and orthopaedics. I will go to Crosshouse Hospital next week. 'I am working with the board on a financial plan and the Scottish Government want to get us to a position of £25m so again I will be working with colleagues on that basis. We want to be as close to £25m as we can. 'The operational recruitment plan published by the Scottish Government is also a priority. Ayrshire delivers excellent patient quality and that is at the centre of everything we do."
Daily Record
01-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
NHS Forth Valley chiefs warn of need to make "savings" amid £38million gap
The forecast of a need for departments to shave two per cent from their respective budgets as part of a cost-cutting drive at the health board. Health chiefs have warned cuts will need to be made across all departments to help bridge a massive £38million funding gap. Finance bosses at NHS Forth Valley revealed the grim forecast at a meeting this week where it was also announced that there was a risk of a £10m overspend. Finance Director Scott Urquhart said all departments will be tasked with shaving two per cent from their budgets in a bid to close the gap. He explained: 'Financial sustainability continues to be reported as very high risk in the NHS Board's strategic risk register. This reflects the financial impact of ongoing operational service and capacity pressures. 'Based on the financial planning assumptions presented to the NHS Board in March, together with the impact of recurring pressures and unachieved recurring savings carried forward from 2024-25, a net funding gap of £38m (4.9 per cent of the recurring baseline budget) was identified for 2025-26. 'A range of cost improvement plans and efficiency initiatives were developed to mitigate the £38m gap with an aim to achieve breakeven. 'Following an in-depth review of the financial results for the first quarter, a projected deficit of approx £10m is forecast at March 31, 2026 based on current expenditure trends, expected savings delivery and risk. 'A £5.5m revenue overspend is reported for the quarter which is a key concern at this early stage in the financial year. 'The Scottish Government approved our financial plan for 2025-26 and acknowledged the level of savings required to deliver a breakeven position. We will continue to work closely with Scottish Government colleagues. 'All Directorates will be tasked with identifying further savings plans equivalent to two per cent of operational budgets. 'Funding allocations in respect of the increase in employers' National Insurance Contributions (60 per cent) and the national sustainability fund have recently been confirmed and are lower than originally planned.' The Scottish Government has reiterated the expectation that all NHS boards must deliver an outturn in line with their approved financial plans or discuss with them in advance of making any changes to the planned outturn position. Further measures to accelerate the pace of savings delivery and reduce costs are therefore required if they are to break even. An overspend of £5.5m is reported for the three-month period up to June 30. The vast majority of the overspend relates to ongoing pressures in the Acute Services Directorate, particularly in relation to medical pay costs, which are overspent by £2.6m, and nurse pay costs – primarily relating to unregistered nursing staff – which are overspent by £1m to date. Pressures are also reported against drug costs (£1.8m overspent), unachieved historic savings targets from prior years (£1.8m) and overspends in surgical sundry budgets (£500,000). An options appraisal is currently underway in relation to all unfunded service areas within the Acute Services Directorate to bring these areas within budget. A demand and capacity exercise is also in progress in a bid to inform medical workforce planning and agree baseline medical staffing profiles. Similar issues are also reported in Women and Children's services. With respect to overall supplementary pay costs, expenditure is £2.6m lower than the same period in the previous year, largely driven by the continued cessation of nurse agency usage. Nurse bank costs are also now starting to reduce with a 15.9 per cent reduction reported in the first quarter, albeit overall nurse bank costs remain higher than the planned level. This will be considered by the nursing workforce governance group to ensure that bank usage is appropriately authorised and cross referenced against sickness absence, vacancies and backfill requirements. The NHS Board agreed to note the level of financial risk and challenge forecast for 2025/26, including a forecast overspend in the region of £10m projected for 2025-26, and to note actions are being put in place with immediate effect to restore financial balance, including development of further targeted cost improvement plans equivalent to two per cent of directorate operational budgets with a focus on waste reduction.
