School nurses, maternity and dementia services and social work posts are under scrutiny in Argyll and Bute as health managers look to plug a budget gap which could reach £12m.
A report has revealed a raft of savings options which will be considered by the area’s health and social care partnership (HSCP) when it sets its budget in March.
These include a redesign of dementia services, which would make a £200,000 saving, as well as £100,000 being retained by bringing maternity services within contracted hours.
Proposals to review health visitor and school nurse staffing are also among the savings options, and together could save a further estimated £100,000.
And a staffing review of social work posts – with up to five ‘post savings’ being made – would save the HSCP a forecast £246,000 if implemented.
The public will be consulted on the savings options during February, subject to agreement by the HSCP’s integration joint board (IJB) when it meets on Wednesday, January 29.
However, the savings options identified by head of transformation and finance Judy Orr amount to £1.6m – and the best case estimate for the budget gap is nearly double that.
The worst case scenario could see a budget gap as much as £12.1m, with the mid-range forecast in Ms Orr’s report being just under £8.3m.
Ms Orr said the current mid-range budget outlook scenario had been developed ‘with a cautious outlook, pending budget announcements by central government in Edinburgh and London.
“The total savings requirement was estimated earlier in the year at £8.65m, split £5.4m for social work and £3.25m for health,” she added.
“Once you allow for those costs which we are unable to influence, this equates to circa 3% for health and 7.5% for social work and targets were given on this basis to the relevant heads of service.
“However, it should be noted that the IJB can choose to vary this split without restriction.”
In a proposed message as part of the budget consultation process, Cllr Kieron Green, the IJB’s chair, highlighted the range of services delivered by the HSCP.
He said: “Our vision is that people in Argyll and Bute will live longer, healthier, independent, happier lives, and this underpins all that the HSCP does.
“Our population is ageing, and this is happening faster than elsewhere in Scotland, so this gives us particular pressures of demands for older people services.
“Obesity is also driving up demand for diabetes related services, which now cost nine per cent of the whole NHS budget.
“At the same time, the resources available to the HSCP are declining in real terms year on year. We cannot simply continue to provide the same services in the same ways.
“We have to find efficiencies, transform how we operate, and do less going forward. These are difficult choices, and there are no easy options left for savings.
“We would really value your views to help us make the best decisions that will affect all of our lives.”
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