Angela Constance: Scotland will be better served with just two mainland NHS boards
The Scottish Government is planning to cut the number of NHS boards on the mainland to just two.
The health secretary has said she has come to the “strong conclusion” that Scotland will be better served with just two mainland NHS boards.
However, Angela Constance was unable to confirm where the geographical split would be between these two boards in the Highlands.
As part of major reforms of public services, the Scottish Government is planning to cut the number of NHS boards on the mainland to just two. It is hoped this will go some way to plugging the projected £5 billion gap in the public finances.
During an appearance at Holyrood’s health committee, Ms Constance said: “There will be two boards - I’ve come to the strong conclusion that two strategic boards would be best.
“That will be dependent upon the underpinning legislative changes … but my strong preference is for two health boards.”
However she said the government is “not at the stage” of deciding how many staff would be needed following the reforms, and said she would “discourage speculation” on this.
She said: “I understand that with this type of change people will speculate and then make assumptions, and I’m not going to participate in that.
“There are already people in various parts of Scotland travelling for specialist care, and most people accept that for particular types of care there will always be a degree of travel required.”
The government has previously indicated this would involve an east and a west health board - but when asked where this split would be in the Highlands, Ms Constance said: “I want to interrogate that we have the right balance between east and west, but there is no definitive or absolute decision made on that, and there shouldn’t be because I’ve committed to working with people, including staff, in the north.
“But we shouldn’t confuse service delivery on the ground from the top tier of governance that exists across health boards.”
Ms Constance added: “If there is one myth I absolutely want to burst, and I will do everything I can to persuade, convince, and rinse and repeat this message for as long as I have breath, this is not about centralisation - it’s absolutely the opposite.
“We have 14 different corporate functions, governance and HR - there is duplication in the system, so if we can cut the duplication to maximum effect, we can get those people to where we want them to be, and that’s service provision.”
Meanwhile committee convener Helen McDade MSP has written to the health secretary demanding she makes a ministerial statement on the proposed NHS reforms “as soon as possible”.
In her letter to Ms Constance, the Reform MSP said: “I accept that there are problems with the current board structure. However, the disruption caused by the proposed reforms would be substantial, and parliament should hear from the cabinet secretary how ministers intend to justify and manage it.”
She added: “Officials scored the risk of delay, higher costs and instability at 200, against a target of 75, and advised that a phased transition would be safer than a ‘big bang’, while ministers expect it to be carried out ‘as quickly as possible’.”
Ms McDade said a ministerial statement must include what the government has decided, the estimated costs and savings, a delivery timetable and a business case for the proposed reforms.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.