Audit Scotland warns of future financial pressure

The health service in Scotland will face “significant” financial pressures over the next five years, a spending watchdog has predicted.

Audit Scotland said the impact of the recession on public sector spending meant NHS budgets were likely to fall.

It also warned the country faced some deep-seated health problems that the health service alone could not tackle.

But it said the financial performance of the NHS in Scotland had been “good” over the past year.

The Audit Scotland report said the NHS had met most of its national targets for patient care and service improvement in 2008-09.