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NHS Highland aims to improve decision-making after damning report

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NHS Highland is to tighten up its decision-making processes after a scathing report into its financial management.

The Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee gave it damning verdict on the north health board earlier this year after concerns about the need for a Scottish Government bailout in 2013/14.

Increased overspending, particularly at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, meant that NHS Highland had to ask for a £2.5million loan to help balance the budget.

Senior executives twice appeared before the Public Audit Committee to answer questions about the debacle.

Some members of the committee alleged that members of the board had been “kept in the dark” about the loan, known as brokerage.

The need for a bailout was never discussed at the board’s public meetings and only emerged after the cash was approved.

The board is now paying the loan back at a rate of £500,000 a year.

At their meeting on Tuesday, board members will be asked to approve a number of changes to their scheme of delegation which sets out the decision-making process.

It is proposed to add a new clause stating that the board must approve any approach for brokerage before the chief executive and finance director apply to the Scottish Government.

And the two senior executives must report back to the board as soon as possible with the government’s response.

Board members have also had extra training on financial awareness in order to improve scrutiny in future.

According to a report to be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, external audit reports have concluded that the board has strengthened its financial management, and that transparency has improved over the past year.