Public invited to scrutinise NHS borders at annual review

Credit: ITV Border

Members of the public will have the opportunity to scrutinise the future direction of NHS Borders.

The NHS Borders Annual Review, being held next month, will be a chance to hear from board members about their challenges, and how they plan to fix it.

It comes as NHS Borders launched plans to slash its budget by more than ten per cent.

The opening financial position in April 2024 had a recurring deficit of £28 million.

Without any cost savings being made, this overspend is expected to rise to around £40 million at the end of March 2025.

A NHS Borders spokesperson said: “We are currently facing unprecedented challenges in planning and delivering healthcare services in the Borders.

“To address our challenges, we must innovate and adapt our approach. This may mean making some difficult decisions about the services we provide.

“The annual review is an opportunity for you to hear and ask questions about the Board’s performance in 2023/24 and our future plans."

Cost factors include looking at their increased demand, new investments for health technologies and services, as well as inflation. Credit: ITV Border

The review will happen on Thursday 22 August in the Chaplaincy Centre at Borders General Hospital in Melrose. It runs from 2:30pm to 3:30pm.

The session will include a presentation from NHS Borders chair, Karen Hamilton, followed by an open question and answer session.

Anyone wishing to attend will need to register their interest by 2 August, via email or my phone on 0800 731 4052.

Anyone wishing to ask questions will need to also submit questions to the above email, by 18 July.

The meeting will also be available to stream online.

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