Consultants in Scotland approve pay offer
Senior doctors vote in favour of accepting salary uplift
Consultants in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly to accept a pay deal worth around 11% overall, backdated to April 2024.
The offer consisted of a 10.5% basic uplift in pay, plus a £5.7m investment in uprating the discretionary points system for the first time since 2009.
Health secretary Neil Gray said it would bring Scotland back in line with recent pay deals in other parts of the UK, ensuring it remained competitive in recruiting and retaining consultants. He also said it would make consultants feel valued, supported, and fairly rewarded.
BMA Scottish consultants committee chair Alan Robertson (pictured above) thanked consultants who took part in the consultative vote on the offer – turnout was 70.9%, with 95.8% in favour of accepting it.
In a blog, Dr Robertson said: ‘Overall, it is our view – and the vote indicates this is shared across the profession – that this year’s pay uplift is an important first step in addressing consultant pay erosion. It will help maintain Scotland as an attractive place for consultants to work, improve retention and therefore benefit the NHS and patients whose care suffers as workforce vacancies go unaddressed.’
More to do
He said the BMA was pushing for the increase to appear in people’s pay packets as soon as possible – and advised members to consider any possible effects on their personal position, with respect to the pensions annual allowance, and take early action if required.
He also said there was more to do. ‘It is far from the end of the story. We still have ground to make up to restore pay to levels of the past and make up what we have lost to poor pay awards and the impact of inflation.
'Pension taxes continue to be an issue and while this pay award helps, higher income tax rates here do impact on competitiveness of our jobs and of the Scottish NHS compared with the rest of the UK. So, we must keep pushing to make sure working as a consultant in Scotland is as attractive as possible, and that this pay offer is not a one off, but more an indication of a trend.’
