This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Extra funding for NHS reform
15/06/2004
Frontline staff and patient services allocated £70
million for additional support.
The allocations will be distributed to Health Boards as
they guide the NHS through the most radical period of
reform since its inception.
Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said:
"The NHS faces a momentous and challenging year
ahead.
"Not only is the NHS Reform Bill sweeping away the last
bureaucratic vestiges of the internal market, we are also
embarking on the first overhaul of pay and conditions since
1948.
"There are new contracts for GPs and consultants. Agenda
for Change applies the same guiding principles to nurses,
therapists, and other NHS workers. It is essential that we
have modern pay structures which recognise and reward staff
for what they do for patients and contribute to the
service.
"It brings in simpler, fairer and more flexible pay
scales. By evaluating posts we can design them better
around the needs of patients rather than grading
definitions or simple job titles. It will help us recruit
and retain key staff and encourage them to make more use of
their professional skills.
"But these changes will place extra financial burdens on
Health Boards. They need to plan ahead now with confidence
into 2005 and beyond.
"Accordingly, I asked the Health Department to identify
savings from central budgets so that we can give front line
staff and services additional support. That is what we
promised in the White Paper Partnership for Care and that
is what we are delivering.
"We are already investing record sums in the health
service. That is entirely right. Modern health care is
expensive.
"What we want is a can-do NHS which is more responsive
to patients' needs. But it is equally right that we ensure
taxpayers' money is spent on improving patient care, not
propping up old failing systems. If they are not serving
patients well, the status quo is not an option. They have
to change
"Those systems are being swept away through a range of
programmes spearheaded by the Centre for Change and
Innovation working with clinicians at a local level. That
is already delivering benefits to patients in improved care
and faster access in general practice and hospital
clinics.
"The pace of reform is now speeding up. Health Boards
will be monitored through their accountability reviews to
ensure that this progress continues.
Revenue allocations for Health Boards for 2004/05 were
announced in January this year. These amount to £5.966
billion, an average increase of 7.25 per cent.
In March this year an additional £30 million was
distributed to boards for the financial year 2003/04 to
support reform.
The £70 million for 2004/05 will be distributed
according to the Arbuthnott formula as follows:
Argyll and Clyde - £5.898 million
Ayrshire and Arran - £5.295 million
Borders - £1.535 million
Dumfries and Galloway - £2.211 million
Fife - £4.578 million
Forth Valley - £3.601 million
Grampian - £6.189 million
Greater Glasgow - £12.604 million
Highland - £3.158 million
Lanarkshire - £7.283 million
Lothian - £9.210 million
Orkney - £287,000
Shetland - £310,000
Tayside - £5.455 million
Western Isles - £541,000
State Hospital - £310,000
Scottish Ambulance Service - £1.535 million