Operations could be cancelled unless progress on resident doctor pay talks

Operations face being cancelled if the first ever resident doctors strike in Scotland, planned for the second week of January, goes ahead.

It comes as the NHS is in the midst of winter pressures, with Scotland’s third biggest health board warning that patients should only attend Accident and Emergency for “life or limb” emergencies.

The British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland and Health Secretary Neil Gray held talks yesterday.

It followed the union announcing on Friday that 90 per cent of its members had voted to walk out for four days from January 13.

Dr Chris Smith, Chair of the BMA’s Scottish Resident Doctors Committee said: “We have held useful talks with Neil Gray and the Scottish Government today and we welcome the constructive approach adopted.

“Further negotiations are now planned, which is crucial as we clearly need considerable and urgent progress if we are to avoid strikes which resident doctors in Scotland voted for overwhelming in the ballot that closed last week.”

He added that operations could be cancelled if a deal is not struck: “Resident doctors are a crucial and substantial part of the NHS Scotland workforce, so of course if we are ultimately forced to take strike action, this will be disruptive for services.

“During strikes, our consultant colleagues cover our work, ensuring urgent and emergency care continues and is safe for those who need it.

“That means that the impact is felt in elective services such as operations and cancelled procedures are likely if strike action does go ahead.

“It is of course for NHS boards to organise the care they provide, and by calling strike dates in the second week of January, we have allowed more time for their preparations and indeed for a deal to be found.

“We are clear striking is a last resort and will only be if the Government continues to break the deal it made with resident doctors just two years ago.

“We are in active negotiations with the Scottish Government and hope very much they will produce the kind of credible offer that meets the terms of the deal and means strikes can be averted.”

Resident doctors - formerly known as junior doctors - make up half of Scotland’s medical workforce.

Their experience ranges from newly qualified doctors to those who have been working for ten years.

So far, Scotland has been the only part of the UK to have avoided strike action by doctors.

A summer 2023 strike was called off at the last minute after a deal was struck.

The Scottish Government has currently offered a 4.25 per cent increase in 2026/26 and 3.75 per cent in 26/27.

This is the same offer which nurses, paramedics and other NHS workers accepted earlier this year.

But BMA Scotland said it was the lowest in the UK and less than the independent pay review body recommended.

The current offer would see basic pay for a newly qualified doctor go from £34,500 to £37,345 for 2026/27 and from £71,549 to £77,387 for those with ten years’ experience.

Mr Swinney welcomed the talks with the doctors’ union, but said the Scottish Government faces “very tight financial constraints”.

The First Minister said: “I welcome the discussions that have taken place this morning between the Health Secretary and the resident doctors, and the fact we are going to have more discussions next week.

“That is the way to try and resolve these issues.

“The government entered into an agreement in 2023 which it has fulfilled with the resident doctors and over a four-year period by 2027, resident doctors’ pay will have increased by 35% which fulfils the terms of the agreement we reached in 2023, so the government has been absolutely committed to that agreement.

“I want to make sure we deliver on that and I want to make sure we avoid industrial action, and the government will contribute to discussions in good faith to try to do so.

“The government’s got to operate within the very tight financial constraints in which we are operating.

“Over a period of four years, the pay of resident doctors will increase by 35 per cent which fulfils that agreement.

“We’ll continue to talk, and continue to find a way through this. I want to avoid industrial action because it won’t serve anybody’s interests.”

Asked his if there is any more money available, he said: “The government’s got to operate in the very tight financial constraints in which we are operating.

“We have set out the offer we can make. That is consistent with the 2023 approach to pay and conditions for resident doctors that was agreed at the time.”

The First Minister spoke during a visit to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow on Monday.

He met with patients and staff involved in the paediatric Hospital at Home service, which provides hospital-level care for child patients at home.

It comes as NHS Lanarkshire is urging residents to use A&E services only for life or limb threatening emergencies, helping ensure those who need urgent care receive it quickly.

Dr Shona McLellan, Emergency Medicine Consultant at University Hospital Wishaw, said: “Our emergency departments are here to care for people in life-threatening situations - stroke, chest pain, breathing problems, major trauma, loss of consciousness or severe bleeding. These are the conditions that need emergency care.

“If your condition is not life or limb threatening, please don’t come straight to A&E. Instead, call NHS 24 on 111. They’ll ask about your symptoms and direct you to the most appropriate service - helping everyone get the right care, quicker.”

Dr Gordon McNeish, NHS Lanarkshire Associate Medical Director for Unscheduled Care, said: “Our emergency departments are under significant pressure, especially during the winter months.

“When people choose the right care option, it helps ensure that those with life-threatening conditions get the urgent attention they need.

“This simple step makes a big difference for patients and for our clinical teams.”