The country's top health official yesterday apologised for the $38 million Budget blunder that angered some health boards and led to tensions in the sector.
Director-general of Health Chai Chua said he ''fully owns'' the error, and he accepted the recommendations of an independent report.
The Southern District Health Board was among the boards initially told they would not need to give back the extra funding before the Ministry of Health reneged on that offer.
For the SDHB, it was $5.6 million.
The blunder angered many chief executives and embarrassed Health Minister Jonathan Coleman.
''I have apologised to the Minister of Health and the health sector for the error and provided an undertaking that we will learn from this and fix it,'' Mr Chua said.
The ministry had tightened its approach to the Budget process as a result of the blunder.
