Health boards spend £31 million 'plugging staffing gaps' with agency junior doctors

Scottish Labour accused the SNP of ‘disastrous workforce planning’

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Health boards in Scotland have spent more than £31 million “plugging staffing gaps” with agency junior doctors in the past four years, new figures show.

Scottish Labour accused SNP ministers of "frittering away millions" with "disastrous workforce planning".

A freedom of information request by the party showed health boards spent a total of £31,052,819 on junior doctors through agencies between 2019-20 and 2022-23.

The highest spender was NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – the biggest health board in the country – followed by NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Grampian.

The figures come as a planned strike due to take place this week was suspended after the Scottish Government made a fresh offer to junior doctors.

Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said “While junior doctors were forced to fight tooth and nail for fair pay and conditions, the SNP has been frittering away millions plugging staffing gaps. The SNP’s disastrous workforce planning has left NHS staff exhausted and demoralised and left taxpayers with a £31 million bill.

“A fair pay deal is essential, but it is the bare minimum the Scotland’s dedicated NHS workers deserve. We need real workforce planning and an end to the crisis wreaking havoc in our hospitals.”

The deal struck between BMA Scotland and Health Secretary Michael Matheson amounted to a 12.4 per cent increase in the next year. The Scottish Government said it will result in a doctor beginning their career seeing an increase of £3,429 per year, while those at the end of their training will see a boost of £7,111.

A three-day walkout, which was due to start on July 12, has now been averted to allow the union to ballot its members.

Mr Matheson, who was in “intense negotiations” with the union to avert the strike, said he hoped the offer “will show junior doctors how much we value them”.

Along with the pay increase, the Scottish Government has also committed to negotiate for better working and training conditions for junior doctors by April 2026, as well as the creation of a new pay review mechanism.

Dr Chris Smith, chair of the BMA’s Scottish junior doctor committee, previously said ministers were making “a serious, welcome commitment to ensuring that pay for junior doctors in Scotland is restored to a fair level”, but warned the union’s mandate for strike action “still has months to run, so all options will remain open”.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Our current pay offer is the best in the UK and the largest investment in junior doctor pay in the last 20 years. On top of that, last year we recruited a record number of trainee doctors, and the number of available medical school places at Scottish universities has increased by 67 per cent since 2016.

“This investment and the significant commitments we have given around pay and contract reform are an illustration of how much we value junior doctors, and we are determined to ensure that Scotland is one of the best places in the world for junior doctors to work and train.

“Our national workforce strategy for health and social care, published in March 2022 sets out our long-term commitments to ensure that we have skilled and sustainable workforce, with attractive career choices, where all are valued for the work they do.”