Health chiefs at cash-stricken Tayside were coached by a former SNP MSP before they were grilled by a Holyrood committee.
Nigel Don was drafted in to help prepare senior executives for a showdown in Dundee with MSPs over the health board’s woeful financial position.
Mr Don was invited to Ninewells in the lead-up to the special session of the public audit committee on December 15 to assist Tayside bosses with the “protocols and procedures” of giving evidence to the committee, the Herald reported.
The former Nationalist MSP, who served between 2007 and 2016 and was previously on the committee, was not paid for the arrangement.
Jenny Marra, the Dundee-based Labour MSP, said the revelation raises questions about the nature of advice given.
“This is the SNP using its own henchmen to help NHS bosses spin their way out of a financial crisis,” she added.
The SNP’s Alex Neil, who is on the public audit committee, said the training from his erstwhile colleague did not do much good.
“It certainly didn’t help their performance in front of the committee,” he said.
“However, I don’t think it’s a big deal to be honest, especially as no payment was made out of public funds.”
A damning Audit Scotland published in October revealed that Tayside has a projected deficit for 2016/17 of £11.6m, with no plans in place to fully address the funding gap.
It is also expected to rely on more emergency loans from the Scottish Government, which it is already heavily in debt to.
Senior managers at the meeting on December 15 revealed that savings of £214m will have to be made over the next five years to balance the books.
A spokesman for NHS Tayside said the meeting was personally arranged between board chairman Prof John Connell and Mr Don, who did not charge for the advice.
“As a former member of the public audit committee, Mr Don assisted with protocols and procedures in relation to giving evidence to the committee,” he said.
