Fife signs off £649m health and social care budget

It was rubber-stamped by members of the Integration Joint Board (IJB) at a meeting on Friday.

Nicky Connor, chief officer, said: “This year’s budget is about spending the money we have in the right places for the people who need it the most.”

Up against a nearly £21 million budget gap for the coming year, an IJB budget draft said the majority of the gap would be met through savings – including redirecting £5 million in underspends, £3.6 million savings through the medicines efficiencies programme and £3 million in savings from digital sensor technology to transform overnight care.

“There has been a tremendous amount of work carried out to date, involving all of our services,” Ms Connor said. “Moving forward we will continue to work together as ‘Team Fife’ to ensure we listen to ideas from our staff, our trade unions, our partners and colleagues as well as the voices of the local community, to continue to make the most of the money and resources we have to support our workforce and the people of Fife.”

The new budget allotted just over £368m to NHS Fife for the purpose of delivering a variety of services. The bulk of funding (£226m) went towards primacy and preventative care services in Fife. It also gave more than £278m to Fife Council for the purpose of delivering services to the community. “Integrated complex and critical care” services received nearly £192 million for adult supported living, social care fieldwork teams, and Adults Fife Wide Services.