Soaring Scots health spending hasnt led to improvements

26 Oct 06
The significant growth in Scottish health expenditure in recent years has not been matched by improvements in services, auditor general Bob Black has suggested.

27 October 2006

The significant growth in Scottish health expenditure in recent years has not been matched by improvements in services, auditor general Bob Black has suggested.

He told a public sector conference in Edinburgh this week that health spending was increasing from £7.2bn in 2002/03 to £10bn in 2007/08. As a percentage of GDP, it was at the top end of figures for European countries.

He added: 'With this volume of growth in the health service, you might reasonably expect some evidence of significant improvements in outputs and outcomes.

'But I am afraid the evidence is quite hard to find.'

Black was addressing leading officials from a wide range of public bodies, including health boards. An electronic vote taken during the conference showed that 75% of those present disagreed that public services had improved as much as could be expected from the increase in resources since 1999, the year of devolution.

Health Minister Andy Kerr stressed that health services were being delivered in a way that was better for patients. Expenditure was up by 54% between 2004/05 — a rise of £2.4bn.

Discussing the lack of evidence of improvements, Black cited acute activity, which figures showed had been 'flat-lining' since 2002, after a slow and continuous increase over the 1990s.

PFoct2006

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