A CASH injection of £1.4 million given by North Ayrshire Council to the area's Health and Social Care Partnership has been used up in just one month.

NAC’s Cabinet agreed to make the payment - a significant proportion of the £4 million Challenge Fund - to help the ailing North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) - which had reported an overspend in the current financial year of £5.325m.

However, the move has proved to have been helpful only in the short-term, as the HSCP is set to report that the deficit has increased to £5.326m despite the financial support, with another four months of the financial year to go.

Now they are setting their sights on equipment for older people, with a waiting list for new applicants based on need, delaying the recruitment of ten care at home staff until next April, and in children’s services.

There will also be moves to address the costs of mental health and learning disability costs, and a freeze on ‘non-essential’ overtime and on non-essential, non payroll spending that isn’t linked to care.

The need to make cuts is not confined to the current financial year, as the HSCP has also brought forward a deficit of £3.245m from 2016/17.

A range of measures have already been agreed, along with new proposals being brought to the table when the partnership meets this week.

The report states that,if the previously agreed savings are delivered, then this year’s figure would be reduced to £4.094m.

However, it later admits that there are already a number of plans which have failed to bring in the expected budget relief.

Even with these savings, the HSCP faces a total deficit of £7.339m. The services which face the toughest challenges are mental health, children’s services and care - providing evidence of the massive impact dealing with an aging population, deprivation and poverty has on finances.

While the partners have acknowledged the need to adress the causes of health and social issues, the reality remains that they have to work to both change their approach while continuing to provide the services which cause the greatest pressures.

Some of the costliest services are:

Learning Disability: projected overspend of £1.349m. This figure has increased after the partnership received a backdated invoice for out-of-authority care. One care package cost the partnership £130k.

Looked After and Accomodated Children: projected overspend of £1.873m. Costs have risen to to delay in some young people leaving their placement at the expected time, along with new placements. The overspend has also risen as savings already identified have not been achieved.

Looked After Children placements: project overspend of £539k. This is due to an increase in the number of kinship and foster extra placements.

The partnership is also looking at cuts in prescription costs, with an overspend of £597k expected by the end of the financial year.

The highest proportional overspend is found within management and support costs. Largely down to NHS targets, there is an overspend of £1.326m against a budget of £4.5m.

The report states that NHS Ayrshire and Arran have no more money to provide the HSCP, adding that it has ‘worked closely with NHS Ayrshire and Arran colleagues to identify alternative savings. However, to date, no new alternative has been identified.”

The savings being considered by the partnership includes a review of learning disability and mental health packages, a spending freeze on ‘non essential no-payroll spend which is not linked to care, reduction in overtime, including a freeze in ‘non-essential’ areas, and a review of management and support functions. In total, this ‘mitigation’ would save £1.557m.