The latest figures show that NHS Grampian have been left £239 million out of pocket since 2009, according to the Scottish Parliament’s independent research team (SPICe).

North East Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles grilled the Scottish Government’s Secretary for Health on the issue in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon. The Cabinet Secretary admitted that the Scottish Government had failed to deliver funding targets set out in the National Resources Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula but refused to commit any additional money to make-up the undisputed shortfall.  

Mr Rumbles said: “The situation in NHS Grampian is appalling. North East health services are the worst funded in Scotland, per head of population and a decade of underfunding has left the health board in crisis.

“The Scottish Government had the opportunity in this year’s budget to set that right and deliver vital investment to make up the short fall. Despite £2 billion extra for health care in Scotland this year, not a penny of that will go toward reimbursing NHS Grampian for ten years of underfunding.

“Not a week goes by without NHS Grampian missing crucial targets for patient care in areas like cancer waiting times, chronic pain treatment and emergency care. We need a new approach entirely from the Scottish Government and to look again at how we fund our care services in the North East and actually do what they say they are going to do and fully fund their NRAC allocation formula.”

ENDS

Notes for editors:

• Data provided by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe):

NHS Grampian allocation compared with NRAC target allocation

The total distance from parity over the whole period shown is £239.2m.

Grampian funding per head of population, as a percentage of the national average

*Calculated using NRS mid-year population estimates

Note: 2017 estimates used for 2018-19 and 2019-20