³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Salaried doctors and dentists working in Scotland who earn less than £80,000 a year are to receive a 3% pay rise.

Increases for those earning above the threshold, including consultants, will be capped at £1,600, the Scottish government has announced.

BMA Scotland, the professional body for doctors, said the deal was "just not good enough".

The announcement comes two weeks after NHS nurses, midwives and paramedics accepted a 9% rise over three years.

The Scottish government said the increase would see junior doctors being paid at least £444 more than their counterparts in England.

Independent contractor GPs will also receive a 3% increase in 2018/19, compared with 2% for GPs in England.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: "Scotland's health service is founded on the incredible contribution of its staff and this agreement recognises the role played by our doctors and dentists."

She added: "This pay increase will be backdated to 1 April - something that is not happening in England. It follows our minimum 9% rise for NHS Agenda for Change employees over the next three years - which will give those 147,000 employees the best pay conditions in the UK.

"By offering fair pay increases we can help to support recruitment and retention of staff, encouraging health professionals to build their careers in Scotland's NHS."

BMA Scotland said the announcement would have "very little impact" on what it claimed were real-terms reductions in pay rates of about 20% over the last 10 years.

The organisation's chairman Peter Bennie said: "We recognise the Scottish government has not mirrored the completely unacceptable decisions made by the Westminster government on doctors' pay in England, particularly by rightly applying the award across the whole financial year.

"However, it is extremely disappointing and a cause of serious concern that consultants, who lead the frontline delivery of medical care in hospitals, have been singled out for a significantly lower pay award.

"Indeed, apart from junior doctors, all sections of the profession have effectively received an award below the independent recommendations of the pay review body, which is simply not good enough.

"Everything possible should be being done to make doctors feel valued and ensure that working in Scotland is as attractive as possible across all stages of a doctor's career."