Additional appointments pledge as Finance Minister visits Fife’s s National Treatment Centre

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Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison visited Fife’s National Treatment Centre in Kirkcaldy on Monday morning and expressed confidence in both the “fantastic resource” and in NHS Fife ahead of budget debates in Holyrood

Ms Robison hailed the centre as a “start-of-the-art” facility with “great staff” and “great patient feedback from patients” who were there on Monday.

Staff took her from ward to ward discussing equipment, procedures, and challenges. The tour was scheduled just before Budget Stage One debates are scheduled to kick off in Holyrood on Tuesday morning.

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If approved, Ms Robison said they would be using National Treatment Centres, including the one in Kirkcaldy, to “really make progress” into the waiting lists for procedures like hip and knee replacements.

The Scottish Finance Secretary visited Fife’s ‘state-of-the-art’ National Treatment Centre in Kirkcaldy ahead of the Budget Stage One debate in Holyrood. (Pic: Danyel VanReenen)The Scottish Finance Secretary visited Fife’s ‘state-of-the-art’ National Treatment Centre in Kirkcaldy ahead of the Budget Stage One debate in Holyrood. (Pic: Danyel VanReenen)
The Scottish Finance Secretary visited Fife’s ‘state-of-the-art’ National Treatment Centre in Kirkcaldy ahead of the Budget Stage One debate in Holyrood. (Pic: Danyel VanReenen)

“We are going to deliver 150,000 additional appointments and procedures with the investment of £21.7 billion into health and social care,” she said. “NHS Fife will get a share of that, and their budget is going to be increasing by over £103 million next year.”

Ms Robison was adamant that those targets are realistic – both financially and logistically. She also claimed the additional money was a “real terms”, above inflation uplift.

“All boards will get a real terms increase,” she said. “That’s important because we know cost inflation has impacted and we have of course significantly increased pay in that national health source.”

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However, she acknowledged that investment means nothing without change, but insisted the budget goals are both “realistic and deliverable”.

“The importance here is making sure [these goals] are delivered because more resources in themselves, while good, are only as good as the delivery and change that they make happen,” she said.

“We need resources, but it’s also about what those resources are used for, and I’m really impressed with the productivity and efficiency here in NHS Fife and particularly at the National Treatment Centre.

She added: “I think [NHS Fife] is going to make sure that every pound of that investment is spent in the best way possible for the benefit of patients.”

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With the additional funds, Ms Robison is expecting the Kirkcaldy National Treatment Centre to provide about 10,000 additional appointments and procedures on its own.

“That will mean people in the area waiting for a hip replacement or a knee replacement will get treated more quickly,” she added.

“We’ve set out those plans to parliament and the FM himself is overseeing the delivery of that.”

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