Renfrewshire chiefs admit 'this is not where we want to be' amid £19.1m cuts proposals

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Senior officials conceded "this is not where we want to be" as more than £19 million of cost-cutting measures were discussed at a sombre meeting.Efforts to close a budget black hole of £11.8m facing Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) in 2025/26 – a figure that estimates have previously said could stretch to £34.9m the following year – have ramped up.A series of "truly awful" proposals aimed at addressing the chasm were unveiled at the integration joint board (IJB), the body responsible for oversight of the HSCP, on Friday.Chief officer Christine Laverty said: "I think what we all feel in the chambers is that this is not where we want to be in terms of, for the IJB members, making some of these very difficult decisions."I've worked in health and social care in the public sector for over 30 years and 22 of those years have been managing budgets and I can't remember ever such a financially challenging time."What I would want to say is this is not just affecting Renfrewshire, this is a national issue.

Every IJB around Scotland have significant budget gaps alongside increasing demand for both health and social care services."The IJB approved certain savings for immediate implementation and agreed that other ideas should be developed further and, where appropriate, become the subject of engagement before future consideration.In the former category are areas such as operational efficiencies, where processes can be delivered more effectively, and vacancy or post management.Renfrewshire Live, the new free app dedicated to bringing you around the clock breaking news, is now available to download.Powered by the Paisley Daily Express, Renfrewshire Live is your go-to source for news, features and sport with live