Ten NHS Highland executives jetted off to North America for training courses while the health board battled to balance the books.
A Press and Journal investigation has found that three managers flew to Seattle in October – despite the same health board having been heavily criticised for sending a trio of bosses to the same US city in 2012.
And another seven executives from the Highlands visited Toronto in Canada the following month – to be trained in “quality improvement”.
The trips contributed to an air travel bill of almost £100,000 at budget-cutting NHS Highland in the last year.
A total of 30 foreign flights were booked by the board between July last year and June this year – with other destinations including Florence, Barcelona, Iceland, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Lisbon, Vienna and Amsterdam.
NHS Highland last night defended the cost of the overseas visits, insisting senior healthcare professionals around the world were keen to learn from the region because of its “reputation for delivering innovative services”.
But MSPs questioned the need to go “half way around the world” at a time of “severe” financial strain, and insisted spending on north patients should be the priority.
The P&J asked the health board for details of all staff travel costing more than £100, and received data on 414 flights booked in the last year – costing a total of £91,972.
The majority of the flights were within Scotland, to the islands or the central belt, as staff assist in the transport of patients, attend training courses and provide medical cover across the country.
Almost a quarter of the trips – about 100 – were to England, also for training, conferences and cover.
And a total of 30 were to or from destinations overseas, at a combined cost of £13,699.
This included a £5,012 booking to send seven managers from Glasgow to Toronto last November, and a £2,218 bill for three bosses to travel from Glasgow to Seattle for a six-day trip in October.
The same health board hit the headlines in 2012 after directors were sent to Seattle for two one-week periods to learn about saving money at the Virginia Mason Medical Centre.
Meanwhile, on March 28 this year, health chiefs booked two flights from London to Gothenburg for £236 each, but then two days later booked a further two flights from Manchester to the same Swedish city for £772 each, more than treble the price.
In the same month, three flights to Akureyri in Iceland were arranged at a total cost of £1,287, as well as two flights from Barcelona to Scotland, and one from Lisbon to Barcelona.
Other journeys included a £334 visit to Florence, a £605 flight to Lisbon, a £346 trip to Stockholm, as well as two bookings to Amsterdam and another to Vienna.
The trips were taken despite the board’s finances having been under the microscope in recent years, with it regularly battling against overspends, and being forced to seek a £2.5million loan from the Scottish Government in 2013/14 to break even.
Savings measures totalling more than £24.7million have been identified by NHS Highland for the current financial year.
Douglas Ross, Conservative MSP for the Highlands and islands, said: “It’s understandable that NHS Highland staff wish to be involved in conferences to get the best understanding for this area, but I would question if they need to go half way around the world, spending several thousands of pounds on expensive flights.
“More and more we’re looking at technology so people can be involved in these conferences at a fraction of the cost.
“At a time when the NHS budget in the Highlands is under severe strain, people would expect the health board to be prioritising spending on patients.”
North Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: “It’s good to go and learn from other countries about best practices and develop skills.
“The only thing, with money being tight, each of these trips need to be weighed up against the value of patient care and the heath board need to be clear of the value of these trips.”
A spokesman for the board said: “Senior NHS Highland clinicians and managers are invited to speak at prestigious international conferences and events due to the health board’s reputation for delivering innovative health and social care.
“NHS Highland was the first board in Scotland to integrate health and adult social care in 2012, and this has led to various health and social care organisations from across the world to invite representatives from NHS Highland to share learning and, increasingly, to visit Highland.
“The board also lead on remote and rural healthcare issues, as highlighted through its involvement with the Being Here programme and it is establishing a lot in common with other counties including Canada and others in Western Europe.”
He added that the visits to Seattle and Toronto were required “to train senior NHS Highland staff to undertake quality improvements to a rigorous standard using an evidence-based approach”.
Cost to taxpayers: No more information
NHS Highland yesterday refused to provide details of the cost to taxpayers of putting their staff up at hotels in North America.
Three senior managers spent six days in Seattle last year.
It is not known where they were based, but a stay of the same duration on the same dates this year at the four-star Pan Pacific Seattle Hotel would cost £1,278 per person.
At the three-star Roosevelt Hotel Seattle it would cost £774 per person for the same dates.
Seven executives visited Toronto in Canada the following month, with five staying for four nights, and two for five nights.
A four-night stay at the three-star Radisson Admiral Hotel Toronto-Harbourfront on the same dates would cost £740 per person.
