Aberdeen social care bosses have more cash in reserves used to get vital services through the hardest of times than expected.
In March, the city’s integration joint board (IJB) agreed to empty its risk fund to cover the cost of its annual overspend.
Financial officials from the Aberdeen City Health And Social Care Partnership (ACHSCP) had advised members of the board the full £2.5 million reserve would be needed to balance the books.
But savings, among them a less steep rise in the cost of some medications, have meant there was still more than £1.2m in the risk fund.
The health authority still spent £850,000 more on prescriptions than budgeted however.
IJB chairwoman Sarah Duncan said: “We did not overspend as much on prescribing as we had expected.
“We made some prudent predictions of massive increases in some drug prices but it wasn’t as bad as we thought.
“There is slightly more money in our risk fund than we expected and that gives us a bit more leeway.”
ACHSCP finance boss Alex Stephen told members the money could be earmarked for technology to help modernise services.
He said: “This is of particular importance given the important role technology and digital solutions are playing in how services are delivered during the coronavirus pandemic.”
Members will meet in June to hear plans for services as the country emerges from lockdown, with the cost of the Covid-19 operation for health and social care authorities still up in the air.
Councillor Duncan said: “We will start thinking about the recovery plan next month and about how services will look going forward.
“There have been some good things happen in our response to the crisis, some services that might work better than before.”
Yesterday the Scottish Government announced £1.86m for ACHSCP as part of initial £50m to help the social care sector deal with the financial implications of coronavirus.
