THE Scottish Government has offered a 5% pay rise to NHS Scotland and Scottish Ambulance Service workers. 

The deal would benefit more than 160,000 employees including nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals, and healthcare support staff.

Depending on roles and experience, front-line workers would receive pay rises ranging from around £1000 to £2400.

The pay offer - which will be backdated to April 1, 2022 - follows negotiations between the Scottish Government, NHS employers and unions.

It applies to the vast majority of staff working in the NHS on Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions. The Scottish Government said it is “the largest single-year increase since devolution”.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Our NHS Agenda for Change workforce – like nursing and midwifery staff, porter staff, and therapy staff – have long had the best pay and conditions in the UK, and with today’s offer of a 5% pay rise we’re demonstrating our commitment to ensuring that continues to be the case. It is a demonstration of how much we value our NHS staff who have worked tirelessly to keep us safe during the course of the pandemic.  

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“Following constructive discussions with unions and employers, we are offering the biggest single-year NHS pay uplift since devolution.

“Experienced porters will receive more than £1000 extra, while a healthcare support worker will see more than £1200 extra. Experienced nurses will see their pay rise by more than £1600 and an experienced advanced nurse practitioner will receive almost £2400 more.

“In fact, as we’re building on NHS Scotland staff being the best paid in the four nations, the UK Government would need to deliver pay uplifts of between 6% to 14% to front line NHS England Agenda for Change staff to catch up with pay levels in Scotland.

“This has been another exceptionally challenging year for our health service and I am pleased that the Scottish Government is able to recognise the service and dedication of our healthcare and support staff. We will be forever grateful for their professionalism and care.”

It is the second year in a row the Government has offered a record high pay deal to NHS AfC staff. The 2021/22 settlement provided an average 4% increase.

NHS unions will now consult their members, but GMB union said Scottish ministers had to go further and that it would not be recommending its members accept the deal.

“Frontline NHS services are chronically under-staffed and if we want to improve this for patients then we need to recruit and retain the people needed to deliver them, and that starts with proper value,” GMB Scotland organiser Karen Leonard said.

“In the grip of the biggest cost-of-living crisis in forty years, we cannot recommend to our hard-pressed members the acceptance of a deal that doesn’t sufficiently confront soaring inflation and eye-watering energy bills, or a funding settlement that awards the most to the highest earners.”