Today in Parliament I raised concerns about NHS Fife funding during General Questions. I raised the question following an Audit Scotland report which highlighted that NHS Fife are currently receiving less than their target funding, four years after a new funding formula was introduced. This report confirms what we have suspected all along, the NHS in Fife is facing pressures financially due to underfunding by the Scottish Government.

The report points out that NHS Fife currently receives funding below their National Resource Allocation Committee target, despite the Scottish Government first using the formula to allocate funds in 2009/10. The report claims that this brings forward uncertainty to the NHS boards’ planning as the Government has no specific timescales for achieving NRAC parity.

To help break even NHS Fife had to receive brokerage from the Government for the second year in a row due to capital sales not taking place as planned. As they have taken on a brokerage agreement there are concerns that priority will be given to making future repayments of the agreement rather than investing in services for the people of Fife.

I asked the Scottish Government what steps they were taking to deliver parity funding and when that will be achieved. The Government introduced a formula to achieve fair funding but NHS Fife still does not receive what it deserves and the Scottish Government have no idea when it will do so.

Whilst NHS Fife owes the Scottish Government £2.1 million in brokerage repayment, Audit Scotland has raised concerns that priority will be given to repaying the loan rather than investing in services as NHS Fife continues to be underfund by £12 million. This is a funding double whammy that could lead to the NHS in Fife struggling to meet current as well as future demands placed on the health service.

Fife deserves its fair share of NHS Scotland’s resources but the SNP have so far failed to achieve this.