– in the Scottish Parliament at on 13 September 2023.
4. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with NHS Fife and what was discussed. (S6O-02499)
Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet representatives of all health boards, including NHS Fife, to discuss matters of importance to local people.
I am grateful to Annabelle Ewing for her question and for her invitation to visit the health centre in Lochgelly last week. I put on record my thanks to those people in the local community and the staff in the health centre for their time and the engagement that I had with them during my visit.
In my view, the health centre needs to be replaced. However, as I outlined to Annabelle Ewing and the local community, the health centre was not in the infrastructure investment plan for 2021 to 2026; alongside that, we have to undertake a review of our capital expenditure due to a cut in our capital budget by the United Kingdom Government; and construction inflation has had an impact , too, because it has significantly pushed up the cost of existing projects.
I assure the member that we will continue to look at what can be done, because I recognise the need for the health centre in Lochgelly to be replaced.
I was alarmed that NHS Fife reported a £7.9 million revenue overspend over the summer, only two months into the fiscal year. I would be concerned if attempts to bring that overspend back under control resulted in the loss of staffing, especially when the waiting lists are enormous. What steps is the Government taking to protect services in Fife?
One of the actions that we are taking to protect and improve services in Fife is the construction of our new national treatment centre there, which is delivering additional capacity to the kingdom of Fife and for patients in that area. That is a significant investment that will improve services.
I assure the member that we will provide boards that are projecting overspends with tailored support and that we will engage with them to try to manage the financial pressures that they face. I hope that the member recognises that the creation of the NTC in Fife is a clear demonstration of the Government’s commitment to improving services there.