NHS GRAMPIAN is predicted to overspend its annual budget by £20 million this year.
Health board officials in Aberdeen said that projected spending for this year will be £770 million, with the allocated budget only £750 million.
Accounts also show a “large overspend” on drugs in a cancer unit. The amount, thought to be around £200,000, relates to the ANCHOR Unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Board finances are to be discussed at a meeting on Friday.
Allan Gall, finance director at NHS Grampian, said: “The £20 million will be managed through a series of measures, including budget managers reviewing the timing and extent of service developments, a continuous drive by everyone in the organisation to maximise cost efficiency and disposal of land and buildings excess to requirements.”
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Shona Robison, the SNP’s health spokeswoman, said that patient care must not suffer because of the financial difficulties. “The Scottish Executive has claimed that there are higher levels of investment in the NHS. However, we continue to see health boards such as NHS Grampian and Argyle & Clyde in financial difficulty,” she said.