NHS Lanarkshire has made significant progress in achieving the goals we set out in Achieving Excellence, our five-year health strategy for Lanarkshire.

For example, we have improved our hospital standardised mortality ratio, exceeded national targets for cancer and IVF treatment, improved on our treatment time guarantee targets and all while treating more people.

We achieved all this and much more within the money we were allocated, without bail-out funding or an external financial recovery team steering our business, as has been the case with other health boards.

The stable financial position that so many staff have contributed to has allowed it to focus on wider service issues and priorities. As a health board we are well placed to face the challenges that are now on the horizon.

Our 2020/21 forecasts make it clear that we face a larger gap between the increase in our allocation from the Scottish Government and rising cost pressures. Projections show that savings of around £37 million will be required. We need to achieve this while driving forward on Achieving Excellence and maintaining a quality approach.

Planning is already underway, taking a project management approach and led by the corporate management team, with staff also being encouraged to get involved.

Laura Ace, director of finance, explains, “We will be engaging widely with staff over the coming months to harness ideas of how we can get the best value from our existing resources and find ways to plug this gap, with more details following shortly.

“We have already begun working with the Area Partnership Forum and the Area Clinical Forum to ensure we fully involve all staff in this important work.

“Working together, we can ensure that NHS Lanarkshire continues its track record of financial sustainability, so that we can continue to focus on providing the best care possible for the people of Lanarkshire.