Minister intervenes at NHS Tayside

A minister is to intervene after a health board used donations to fund new technology.

NHS Tayside took more than £2 million from its endowment fund - which is made up of donations from the public or bequests in wills - to cover core running costs.

Health Secretary Shona Robison has announced that she will be exercising "ministerial powers of intervention'' and moving NHS Tayside to the highest level of escalation.

She said: "Issues over past few weeks have laid bare the extent of the problems facing NHS Tayside and the minutes of a meeting of Trustees in 2014 outline, in detail, the approval of the use of endowment funds by the chief executive.

"It has become clear to me that the current structure of the board cannot deliver the improvements required to return to a sustainable position, while continuing to deliver safe and effective services to patients.

"In particular, I have concerns about the overall management of the board's finances and the ability of leadership to carry through the change required to bring the board back into financial balance."

Political opponents urged the Health Secretary to launch an investigation when reports emerged on Wednesday about the cash-strapped health board.

The health board, which was bailed out with a Scottish Government loan of £33.2 million in 2016-17, was reported to have used the endowment fund when "faced with a funding deficit'' in 2013-14.

It was further claimed NHS Tayside had to temporarily suspend its constitution to allow this to happen, as the money was going to retrospectively fund projects already approved by the board.

Ms Robison added: "I will be exercising ministerial powers of intervention and moving NHS Tayside to the highest level of escalation and I have instructed the chief executive of NHS Scotland to strengthen the leadership of NHS Tayside with immediate effect.

"It is imperative that all boards use charitable donations for the purposes of which they were given.

"At my request, the chief executive of NHS Scotland has written to every NHS board chair seeking assurance that endowment monies are being spent for the correct purposes.

"We are also engaging directly with OSCR (Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator) on this issue.''

Professor John Connell, chairman of NHS Tayside, on Wednesday said the projects funded were not for back office systems and "were appropriate for endowment funding''.

But he said he wanted "further assurance'' about the retrospective element of the decision-making process, adding that this would be included in "the planned externally-led review of NHS Tayside's financial governance announced last week''