THE Health Secretary is under pressure to launch an urgent investigation into "truly shocking" revelations that a cash-strapped health board used charity money to fund IT systems.
NHS Tayside plundered £2.71m from its endowment fund - money made up of donations from the public or bequests in wills - after running out of cash in 2013/14.
READ MORE: NHS Tayside used charity cash to pay for new office IT system
Of this, £2.3m was spent on eHealth initiatives including new computer equipment.
The move is highly controversial since public donations are supposed to be spent on extras, such as toys for a children's ward or redecorating a day room, that would not be funded from the core NHS budget.
It also comes in the wake of a damning review by accountants Grant Thornton which found that the health board had "misrepresented" its accounts since 2012 by funnelling £5.3m of taxpayer cash supposed to be spent on eHealth initiatives into general expenditure to make its finances appear more favourable.
Professor John Connell, chairman of NHS Tayside, said the IT projects that were funded "were appropriate for endowment funding".
Opposition politicians called on Health Secretary Shona Robison, who represents the Dundee City East area, to intervene.
READ MORE: NHS Tayside used charity cash to pay for new office IT system
Labour health spokesman Anas Sarwar MSP said: "These are truly shocking claims that will stun the public in Tayside and beyond."
He added: "That an NHS health board in the 21st century is having to effectively prop itself up with charitable donations given in good faith is simply outrageous.
"SNP Health Secretary Shona Robison has repeatedly ignored the crisis at NHS Tayside, despite it being in her own backyard.
"Her head-in-the-sand incompetence cannot go on any longer. She must launch an urgent investigation into the apparent misuse of these donations. Anything less would be an insult to those who have given money and would undermine public confidence in our health service."
Jenny Marra, chair of Holyrood's Public Audit Committee, said: “I believe this is a huge breach of trust with the people of Tayside who raise money in good faith for patients’ comfort, not for computer systems. That’s what we pay our taxes for.
“There is now a culture of fiddles at NHS Tayside to try to find a way out of the financial mess.
“We need leadership with a plan to make our local health services fit for years into the future, not people who are prepared to use charitable donations to make the books look better.”
READ MORE: NHS Tayside used charity cash to pay for new office IT system
Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "Generous members of the public will be appalled to think that their donations to the endowment fund were being used to plug gaps elsewhere."
Less than a week ago NHS chief executive Paul Gray told MSPs he expected NHS Tayside would require a bailout worth £9-12m by the beginning of April to balance its books.
The health board has already received more than £33m in brokerage - interest-free loans from the Scottish Government - since 2012 to prop up its finances.
Prof Connell said: "These proposals totalling £2.38 million were not for back office IT systems but covered new, patient-facing approaches.
"These included electronic referral and booking systems allowing GPs, dentists and opticians to directly refer into consultant and specialist colleagues, new telehealth video technology for patients, and the development of a mobile system which allows GPs, clinicians and district nurses to access and update patient records securely from inside people's own homes."
He added: "Endowment funds are extremely important to NHS Tayside as they support a range of purposes in our hospitals and communities, such as the purchase of items to improve patient care, the enhancement of healthcare environments, additional staff training, funding to support research and, critically, support for innovation to improve service provision or care.
"We know that many patients and families raise funds and make donations to wards and services and we are very grateful for these additional funds.
"There is a process to ensure that these valued funds are used appropriately, with all funding applications considered by an Endowment Advisory Group and the annual accounts of the Endowment Fund subject to annual external audit."
READ MORE: NHS Tayside used charity cash to pay for new office IT system
Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said: "This isn't the first time questions have been raised about NHS Tayside's use of cash.
"It's clearly wrong that charitable donations should be swallowed up by the general running of the organisation.
"If donors thought that was to be the case, many of them would never have parted with their hard-earned cash."
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