Shona Robison at National Treatment Centre

Fife Today

Cabinet Secretary for Finance visits the NTC in Kirkcaldy ahead of Phase One of Budget talks at Holyrood

Transcript

00:00So here looking at the National Treatment Centre in Kirkcaldy, which is a fantastic resource, state-of-the-art,

00:07great staff, just great patient feedback that I've just had from patients who are here experiencing the facilities

00:16and we are going to be using the National Treatment Centres like the one in Kirkcaldy to really make progress

00:23into the waiting list for people who have been waiting for procedures like hips and knee replacement

00:30and we are going to deliver 150,000 additional appointments and procedures

00:35with the investment of the £21.7 billion into health and social care

00:42and NHS Fife will get a share of that and their budget is going to be increasing by over £103 million next year

00:50and what's important with all of that is what it delivers for patients

00:53and it will mean that we will be able to ensure that people are not waiting

00:57as long as unfortunately some people have had to for those essential procedures.

01:02Great, so you mentioned that NHS Fife is going to get a little bit of a budget boost,

01:06is that with inflation or is that above inflation?

01:10I mean we're looking at quite a significant budget gap, they're still overspending,

01:14they haven't quite made their savings targets, so I'm just wondering what that's going to look like in real time.

01:19So all boards are going to get a real terms increase

01:22and that's important given we know cost inflation has impacted

01:26and of course we have significantly increased pay in the National Health Service quite rightly

01:33so we're able to attract people here to work in Scotland and Fife and elsewhere

01:38because we've been settling pay deals with the staff

01:44which have enhanced their position on pay within the UK.

01:49But what's important is also how the National Treatment Centre for example

01:54will be able to contribute to that 150,000 additional appointments and procedures

02:00and National Treatment Centres like Kirkcaldy will be contributing about 10,000 additional procedures

02:07so that will mean that people in the area waiting for a hip replacement or a knee replacement

02:13will be treated more quickly and we've set out those plans to Parliament

02:19and the First Minister himself is overseeing the delivery of that.

02:22Great and one of my last questions I think, do you think these targets are realistic?

02:27They are realistic, they're realistic and deliverable

02:31and the importance here is making sure they are delivered

02:34because more resources in themselves, while good,

02:37is only as good as the delivery and change that they make happen.

02:41So yes we need the resources but it's then what those resources are used for

02:45and I'm really impressed with the productivity and efficiency here in NHS Fife

02:50and particularly at the National Treatment Centre.

02:52I think it's going to make sure that every pound of that investment

02:55is spent in the best way possible for the benefit of patients.

02:58Perfect and the last thing, I know that lots of health boards are struggling including NHS Fife,

03:02where do you think the responsibility lies for taking on responsibility for those underspends

03:09and those big budget cuts?

03:11Well look, every health board, whether it's NHS Fife or any other,

03:14have a responsibility to manage their finances and deliver the best outcomes

03:18for patients within their area.

03:20Scottish Government's responsibility is to make sure those resources

03:24are allocated in the best way and the most effective way

03:27but of course we work very closely with each NHS board, including NHS Fife,

03:32to help them manage through some of these issues and that will continue.

03:37But next year is a massive opportunity with the uplift of budgets

03:41to really focus on delivery and I'm confident that's what NHS Fife will do.

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