Urgent action needed to address NHS Scotland concerns

In her annual review of the NHS, the Auditor General for Scotland has warned of a continued decline in performance across Scotland and claimed that the NHS is not financially sustainable in its current form.

Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, said that pressure is building in several areas, including major workforce challenges, rising drug costs and a significant maintenance backlog. Additionally, NHS boards are relying heavily on one-off savings and are struggling to achieve unprecedented savings of £449.1 million.

Declining performance is evident in the discovery that no NHS boards were able to meet all eight key national targets and performance against these targets declined nationally, and that only one of the eight key performance targets was met nationally.

There is evidence that the NHS is struggling to recruit and retain the right people across Scotland, and ensure they have the time and support they need. Boards are also considering the potential impact of EU withdrawal on areas such as staffing, the supply and cost of drugs, and food prices.

Gardner said: “The performance of the NHS continues to decline, while demands on the service from Scotland's ageing population are growing. The solutions lie in changing how healthcare is accessed and delivered, but progress is too slow.

"The scale of the challenges facing the NHS means that decisive action is needed now to deliver the fundamental change that will secure the future of this vital and valued service. Alongside longer term financial planning, this must include effective leadership, and much more engagement with communities about new forms of care and the difference they make to people's lives. This will help to build support among the public and politicians for the changes required."