Pay increase for medical and dental staff

NHS medical and dental staff will be awarded a 4.5% pay increase for this year backdated to 1 April 2022. This is for all NHS Scotland medical and dental staff, general medical practitioners and general dental practitioners.

This comes following recommendations by the independent Doctors and Dentists Pay Review Body (DDRB) of an annual pay uplift of 4.5% for NHS medical and dental staff.  The Scottish Government has accepted this recommendation.

The Scottish Government, BMA Scotland and other relevant stakeholders all participated and provided evidence to the DDRB to allow them to make their independent recommendations.  

This year’s award builds on the 3% uplift that was recommended and applied by the Scottish Government in 2021.  This means staff have been awarded a 7.5% pay increase over the last two years.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said:

“The NHS has faced its biggest challenge during the pandemic and staff have been working tirelessly to continue to provide care while under increased pressure. 

“The continued hard work and dedication of staff ensures that the people of Scotland continue to receive world class healthcare as we remobilise NHS services and tackle waiting times.

“This uplift demonstrates that we value all our medical and dental staff and the important contribution they make. It’s crucial that we continue to not only recruit and build our future NHS workforce, but also retain expertise within NHS Scotland. 

“This announcement means that our senior medical staff will continue to be the best paid in the UK.  This will help ensure that NHS Scotland remains an attractive employment option for all medical and dental staff.”

Background

The 4.5% pay uplift will be applied to all NHS medical and dental staffing grades and will be included in salaries with backdated payments to 1 April 2022 to follow as soon as practical.