Health chiefs plan cost savings

The new board took control of health services last year

Health chiefs in the Western Isles have promised there will be no compulsory redundancies despite announcing they need to make significant savings.

However unions are concerned after it emerged that one of the board's main targets is to cut administration costs by 15%.

The new board that took control last summer has been trying to rein in a debt of more than £3m.

This year it faces an overspend of about £500,000.

Staff confidence

The board said it will assess vacant posts with a view to scrapping them and review fixed contracts.

Last year, the then health minister Andy Kerr installed a new interim chairman and sent a support team to the isles to try to resolve the island health authority's financial problems.

He also sought to restore staff confidence in senior management.