NHS consultants in Scotland accept 10.5% pay rise

The British Medical Association had previously suggested that members accept the deal

Senior doctors across Scotland have accepted a 10.5% pay offer which will see them earn between £10,000 and £13,500 more each year.

The £124.9m Scottish government deal will bring the country back into line with recent agreements in other parts of the UK and will be backdated to 1 April.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the deal would ensure that the country remains "an attractive place for consultants to work".

The agreement comes after the three main unions representing nursing, midwifery and other NHS staff in Scotland confirmed they would accept a 5.5% pay rise earlier this year.

In addition to the consultants' 10.5% uplift to all basic pay, £5.7m will be invested in other contractual elements.

BMA Scotland previously said the additional investment meant the offer was the equivalent of an 11% rise and put the deal to members with a recommendation to accept.

Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray has welcomed the pay offer being accepted

Health Secretary Neil Gray said the pay and reward package would ensure consultants' pay remained competitive with that of senior doctors in other parts of the UK.

He said: "I am very pleased that the consultants have voted to accept our pay offer. This will ensure that our consultant workforce feel valued, supported and fairly rewarded."

He added that he thanked consultants "for their dedication and patience", calling them a "critical part" of NHS Scotland.

'Much more to do'

Dr Alan Robertson, chairman of the BMA's Scottish consultant committee, said the deal was an "important first step in addressing consultant pay erosion".

He said: "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.

"However, there is much more to do and build upon from here - 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."

Dr Robertson said the pay deal needed to be "indicative of a trend" rather than a one-off deal.