The EIJB, like others across Scotland, is facing significant financial challenges. Demand for services is growing, alongside rising costs and a reduction in the working age population.

The medium-term financial strategy, alongside the new strategic plan, seeks to respond to these challenges and determine how we invest the EIJB’s £900 million budget to provide health and social care services for the people of Edinburgh.

In order to balance the budget for 2025/26, officers have developed a proposed savings programme with reductions of £29 million, which will be considered by the EIJB when they meet on 25 March 2025. While this programme tries to protect services, citizens and staff as far as possible, reductions of this size and scale cannot be made without impact.

Katharina Kasper, chair of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, said: “We have been working closely with our partners in the Council and NHS, and I am pleased that we have the opportunity to consider plans that would deliver a balanced budget for next year.

“However, we are facing unprecedented challenges to the sustainability of our health and care system, and more needs to be done to futureproof the high-quality care we offer for the most vulnerable people in our society.

“The EIJB now has some difficult decisions to make in this complex landscape to ensure that we can continue to offer vital support to people when they need it.”

Christine Laverty, chief officer of the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “I would like to thank my new colleagues for all their hard work to develop these draft plans, which will help us to bring about the changes we need to make to our health and social care services.

“I do not underestimate the challenges we will face in the coming years, but my commitment to the people of Edinburgh is to provide quality health and care services for those who need them most, with care and compassion, within the financial envelope available.”

The next Integration Joint Board, where the financial plans will be discussed, is on 25 March at 10am. For meeting details and to read the papers, visit the City of Edinburgh Council website.