NHS Forth Valley needs to make £38m of cuts next year to balance books

The board of NHS Forth Valley has agreed a financial plan for the next three years which has been agreed with the Scottish Government, and is based on this year’s funding settlement from Holyrood, which includes a two per cent increase in the baseline budget.

With other funding awarded separately, the total budget will be £919.9 million for 2026/27 – but a report to board members highlights the many financial uncertainties the health service faces over the next three years as inflation looks likely to remain high.

Costs that are expected to rise include medical pay, drugs – including new oncology drugs – and technologies such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors.

While savings and efficiencies have been identified across departments, many of these have proved difficult to fully introduce and are behind target.

Over the past year, NHS Forth Valley managed to stay within its budget thanks various measures, including finding one-off efficiency savings and getting additional unplanned funding from the Scottish Government.

But the report notes that this has not addressed recurring budget shortfalls and longer-term financial sustainability.

Chief executive Ross McGuffie told the board that once again the savings target would be challenging as “every year this becomes more and more challenging” and he warned that it will mean substantial changes.

The report notes: “It is clear that service redesign and reform of our services, alongside a shift in resources towards prevention and early intervention during 2026/27 and beyond, is essential.”

Professor McGuffie said a move towards more preventative health care was becoming “much more important”.

“That’s the only way I can see us being able to live within our means to do so within our strategic direction,” he said.

There is also likely to be much more collaboration between health boards to offer patients across Scotland access to services, while there is a warning of “disinvestment” in some of the services currently offered by NHS Scotland.

Members heard that NHS Forth Valley also continues to be in dialogue with the Scottish Government’s Justice Department about the costs of providing services to the local prison population, which is particularly high in Forth Valley and is currently funded on a year to year basis.

The chair of NHS Forth Valley, Neena Mahal, said that communication with staff would be vital to making the plan a success and that while the budget this year is financially balanced “that does not mean taking our foot off the pedal”.