A proposed pay offer agreed with the Scottish Government will help make the NHS in Scotland a more attractive place for consultants to work, BMA Scotland said today.
The offer of a 10.5% basic pay uplift will now be put to members in a referendum to make a final decision – with the BMA Scottish Consultants Committee recommending they accept.
A further component of the offer will see £5.7m invested in uprating the Discretionary Points system for the first time since 2009 – taking the package of investment to the equivalent of an 11% overall rise.
A decision to put the offer to members was approved at an emergency meeting of the BMA’s Scottish Consultant’s Committee and follows more than a month of intense negotiations with the Scottish Government.
Committee chair, Dr Alan Robertson, said:
“Since the financial crisis in 2008, consultants in Scotland have experienced considerable pay erosion due to repeated pay freezes and pay caps at a time when inflation has generally run much higher than pay awards received.
“Add in consideration of recent pay deals in the rest of the UK and it was increasingly clear that consultants in Scotland were falling seriously behind, and we risked losing a significant proportion of this vital part of the workforce to places prepared to value them better.
“It was against this background we entered pay negotiations with the Scottish Government, and after considerable work we believe we have reached an offer which is a positive first step towards making the Scottish NHS a competitive place for consultants to work once again.
“While comparisons can be difficult due to slightly different pay structures, at the very least this an offer which returns consultant pay in Scotland to being comparable with that across the UK – and at many stages of a consultant’s career it will be better than in England.
“Scottish Government figures put consultant vacancies at some 7.1%, but we know from Freedom of Information requests to Health Boards these don't count long term vacancies which gives a figure roughly double that, meaning hundreds of posts lying empty, making any attempt to tackle ever-lengthening waiting lists futile.
“That’s why this investment in the consultant workforce could not come soon enough. There is still much work to be done given the many years that our pay has been eroded and the impact of higher taxation in Scotland. However the offer is one we believe moves consultant pay in Scotland in the right direction and can be built upon. Long term, that investment is the only way that we can ever hope to put our NHS on a more sustainable footing, for the benefit of both doctors and patients.”
Notes to editors
As part of this agreement there is a commitment to undertake further work via task and finish groups under the Joint Negotiation Committee between Scottish Government, BMA Scotland and NHS Employers. These groups will seek to conclude in 2025/26 and will be tasked with:
• Discussions on the balance of different elements of the job plan for consultants to facilitate attractive employment opportunities within NHS Scotland and to enable retention of the existing workforce.
• Discussions to agree a national rate for internal short-term cover to improve continuity of care and help alleviate agency and locum spend within NHS Scotland.
BMA Scotland expect the referendum to open in mid-October and run for 3 weeks – meaning a final result should be announced in early November.
The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.