MEMBERS of Fife’s Integrated Joint Board (IJB) have taken the “difficult” decision to move forward with a £13.5 million recovery plan. 

The board will also write to both NHS Fife and Fife Council to ask for additional money and warn that they're not likely to balance the books this year, even if the cuts are approved in full. 

An extraordinary IJB meeting will be held in October where members will review the recovery plans in more detail - a compromise after members originally voted 10-3 to refuse.

The plan was short on detail but there is rising concern that cuts to health and social care services in Fife will impact on the elderly and vulnerable. 

The services covered include mental health, district nursing, social work, physiotherapy, children's community health, support for vulnerable adults, disability adaptations and medical care of the elderly.  

READ MORE: NHS Fife chief speaks of financial challenges amid £50m funding gap

“I recognise that we must do something to bring the finances back in line, and every stone needs to be turned over, and we need to examine every opportunity,” Chris McKenna, medical director for NHS Fife, said. 

“But at the moment, what’s described in the paper, I struggle to support. It’s hard for me as a person in NHS Fife who is responsible for quality and safety to endorse this because I don’t have the details.” 

When the board was told that doing nothing was not an option, they agreed instead to approve the plans “in principle”. 

The recovery includes £12m of cuts through 'temporary service reductions', increased thresholds for social care packages and cuts for respite care provision. 

It also includes the re-provision of assessment and rehabilitation centres to a community-based model, the potential realignment of staff at the front door of Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital, and more. 

However, there is no mention of which services will be reduced or which thresholds will be increased – or by how much. 

Without that detail, some IJB members refused to support the plans. 

Lynne Parsons, employee director for NHS Fife, read a joint statement from herself and Debbie Fyfe, joint trades union secretary.

“We have agreed we need to make significant savings at pace and we’re committed to working in partnership to achieve those savings, but we cannot support these proposals,” Ms Parsons said.  

“I don’t have a high level of confidence from this paper that there is a full understanding of the risks associated with the proposals and I don’t take confidence that savings will be delivered.” 

Other IJB members raised specific concerns about the cuts but the HSCP’s chief finance officer, Audrey Valente, said the difficult decisions aren’t going to get any easier if they are postponed.

“It won’t come as any surprise that this was uncomfortable for us to come forward with this recovery plan, but we’re in the territory of making difficult decisions,” she said. 

“We’re never going to please everybody no matter what we bring forward, and the difficult decisions will have impacts.” 

She said the board would be “remiss to not agree something today” and added: "Just to be clear, it’s difficult decision territory and it’s not going to get any easier. 

“At some point we’re either going to have to say yes to this or we will have to ask for full funding from our partners.”

After formal approval of the recovery plan was defeated 10-3 the senior leadership team came back with a suggestion to approve the recovery plan “in principle as a direction of travel”.

This was approved 12-2.