NHS in Scotland to receive additional £65 million
The Scottish Government has today announced that an extra £65m will be made available to NHS in the next financial year. The funding boost for 2015/16 will ensure that all health boards will receive uplifts next year which are at least 1% above the rate of inflation.
This will bring all health boards to within one per cent of parity under the NHS funding formula, NRAC, a year earlier than planned.
Health Secretary Shona Robison (pictured above) said the funding increase demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to protecting the NHS. She said: “This Government has not only protected the NHS budget, but increased it.
“Our NHS services faces challenges as a result of the increase in patients, with more complex illnesses, and the rising costs of expensive new drugs.
“This £65m additional investment increases the resources available to health boards will help alleviate these pressures and ensure our NHS can continue to deliver effective and sustainable care to all patients across Scotland.”
“We’re clear that all patients in Scotland should be treated as quickly and as effectively as possible, with the right care, in the right place, at the right time. With this increase in funding, health boards are being given more support to achieve this.
“Despite Scotland’s fiscal resource budget being slashed in real terms by 10 per cent by Westminster since 2010, we’ve increased the health resource budget by 4.6 per cent in real terms.”