Scottish Government
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NHS to receive additional £65m
All boards to receive above inflation uplifts next year
The Scottish Government has yesterday announced that an extra £65m will be made available to NHS in the next financial year.
The funding boost for 2015/16 will ensure that all territorial health boards will receive uplifts next year which are at least 1 per cent above the rate of inflation.
This will bring all health boards to within one per cent of parity under the NHS funding formula, NRAC, a year earlier than planned.
Health Secretary Shona Robison has said the increase in funding demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to protecting the NHS.
Ms Robison said: “This Government has not only protected the NHS budget, but increased it.
“Our NHS services faces challenges as a result of the increase in patients, with more complex illnesses, and the rising costs of expensive new drugs.
“This £65m additional investment increases the resources available to health boards will help alleviate these pressures and ensure our NHS can continue to deliver effective and sustainable care to all patients across Scotland.”
“We’re clear that all patients in Scotland should be treated as quickly and as effectively as possible, with the right care, in the right place, at the right time. With this increase in funding, health boards are being given more support to achieve this.
“Despite Scotland’s fiscal resource budget being slashed in real terms by 10 per cent by Westminster since 2010, we’ve increased the health resource budget by 4.6 per cent in real terms.
Notes To Editors
Background
A local breakdown of investment by health board will be issued on Monday 12 January.
This additional £65 million will see Territorial Boards receive an average uplift of 3.4 per cent in the next financial year, and will bring all NHS territorial boards to within one per cent of parity under the NHS NRAC funding formula a year earlier than planned, and help boards meet the cost of expensive new drugs.
The funding comes from an additional £127m of Barnett consequentials passed to the Scottish Government. Deputy First Minister John Swinney previously confirmed all consequentials for health would be passed to health spending. Further announcements will follow.
The NRAC formula was introduced in 2009/10 and the Scottish Government’s policy has been to phase in changes to NHS boards’ funding gradually, with a view to bringing all boards to within 1 per cent of NRAC parity by 2016/17.
