{"id":736892,"date":"2026-08-13T17:20:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T17:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/736892\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T17:20:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T17:20:36","slug":"3-5-per-cent-pay-rise-for-nhs-scotland-senior-doctors-and-dentists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/736892\/","title":{"rendered":"3.5 per cent pay rise for NHS Scotland senior doctors and dentists"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Read More: NHS Scotland GP bug-hit IT system leaves doctors facing blank screens<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n More than 10,000 NHS<\/a> staff will be affected by the award, which will be backdated to April 1.\n<\/p>\n

\n Salaried community and public dental service workers will receive a 3.75% uplift, with ministers saying this reflects \u201cparticular challenges\u201d in those services.\n<\/p>\n

\n Health Secretary Angela Constance<\/a> confirmed the awards in a letter to the British Medical Association, saying the Scottish Government had accepted in full the recommendations of the Review Body on Doctors\u2019 and Dentists\u2019 Remuneration (DDRB).\n<\/p>\n

\n Read More:\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: \u201cI\u2019m grateful to all consultants, GPs, SAS doctors and dentists for the invaluable contribution they make to the people of Scotland in delivering safe, effective and high-quality care across our communities.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt is, therefore, right that we recognise this by accepting the independent findings of the DDRB to deliver an equitable and affordable pay deal \u2013 one that is in line with other public sector pay awards for 2026-27.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe remain committed to a fair, evidence-based and independent approach to pay awards and in accepting the DDRB recommendations in full, we are supporting recruitment and retention.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis will help to ensure that NHS Scotland<\/a> remains an attractive place to work, while balancing the need for financial sustainability across the public sector.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n For consultants, the award will amount to annual salary rises of about \u00a33900 to \u00a35183, depending on pay point.\n<\/p>\n

\n Specialty doctors will receive between about \u00a32246 and \u00a33501 more each year, while specialist doctors will see increases of between \u00a33531 and \u00a33901. Public dental service dentists will receive rises ranging from around \u00a32030 to \u00a34294.\n<\/p>\n

\n The announcement follows substantial pay rises for consultants over the past three years, including 6% in 2023-24, 10.5% in 2024-25 and 4% in 2025-26.\n<\/p>\n

\n However, BMA Scotland said the award had been \u201cimposed\u201d and warned it could worsen pressures on recruitment and retention.\n<\/p>\n

\n Dr Joanna Bredski and Dr Sine Steele, chairs of BMA Scotland\u2019s consultants and SAS committee, said: \u201cThe imposition announced by the Scottish Government is both deeply disappointing and extremely concerning for the future of the profession and the NHS.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt is regrettable the Cabinet Secretary has decided to ignore previous agreements and imposed the 3.5% pay uplift for both consultants and SAS doctors without offering any further negotiation on ending pay erosion or reforms which improve working conditions and prevent burnout.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n They said the union had raised concerns with Ms Constance about the need to make medicine an \u201cattractive and sustainable career\u201d in Scotland.\n<\/p>\n

\n The BMA cited a recent survey in which half of consultants said they would be likely or very likely to leave NHS Scotland if the 3.5% award were imposed. Three-quarters said their morale would decrease or significantly decrease.\n<\/p>\n

\n Dr Bredski and Dr Steele added: \u201cUnless our pay and working lives as a whole are improved, we will go on losing the senior doctors who are so vital to the NHS in Scotland.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe will now be talking to our membership and considering next steps. All options are on the table.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The DDRB is an independent body advising the UK Government<\/a> and devolved administrations on doctors\u2019 and dentists\u2019 pay. Its recommendations draw on evidence from governments, employers, NHS bodies and professional organisations including the BMA and dental representatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Read More: NHS Scotland GP bug-hit IT system leaves doctors facing blank screens More than 10,000 NHS staff…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":736893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-736892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=736892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}