Michael Matheson was appointed health secretary in March
Scotland’s health secretary has described demands from junior doctors for a 23.5% pay rise as “simply unaffordable”.
Michael Matheson said such a deal would have a major impact on the NHS budget.
Junior doctors last week voted overwhelmingly in favour of a three-day strike amid a pay dispute with the Scottish government.
But Mr Matheson told BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show he would “do everything” to avoid industrial action.
In a ballot of BMA Scotland members, 97% voted for a 72-hour walkout over calls for a 23.5% pay increase above inflation.
Committee chairman Dr Chris Smith said some junior doctors in Scotland were currently earning a basic salary that equated to about £14 an hour.
It follows strikes by junior doctors in England, who walked out for three days in March and four days in April.
Mr Matheson said he was “disappointed” with the outcome of the ballot and recognised that strike action would have a “very significant impact” on primary and secondary care.
Image source, PA Media
The 72-hour walkout would be the first ever strike by junior doctors in Scotland
The health secretary said he had been in talks with the BMA’s Scottish junior doctors committee since his appointment in March and confirmed further negotiations would take place this week.
Mr Matheson told the programme: “I am determined to do everything I can to try and avert the possibility of industrial action because we have saw the level of disruption it caused to the health service when industrial action was taken in England.”
Junior doctors had already been awarded a 4.5% pay uplift recommended by the independent Doctors’ and Dentists’ Pay Review Body.
But they have demanded 23.5% – which is the equivalent of 35% if inflation is included.
Asked about the request, Mr Matheson said: “I have been very clear from the outset that 35% is simply unaffordable because it would result in a very significant cut to the health service budget, which would have a detrimental impact on the level of patient services that we could provide.”
The health secretary said there were over 5,000 junior doctors in the NHS in Scotland and added they were “critical” to supporting the NHS.
Mr Matheson told the programme he was also committed to addressing the short term and long term issues facing the profession.
He said: “That is about making sure NHS Scotland is a place where they feel valued and that we help to support them in their training programmes as they move through the NHS over a number of years.”
The health secretary also told The Sunday Show he remained committed to the vision for the National Care Service but said he would provide an update on its scope and timeframe at the end of the summer.
And he pledged the SNP was committed to ensuring the NHS remained free at the point of need.
It comes after the party last week said future Scottish government spending plans will be focused on tackling poverty.
But First Minister Humza Yousaf told BBC Scotland that universal policies, such as abolishing prescription charges, were “not necessarily in conflict” with spending being more targeted in the future.
‘Pay erosion’
More than 71% of the eligible 5,000 junior doctors voted in the ballot, with 97% in favour of industrial action. A strike would impact planned operations, clinics and GP appointments.
Junior doctors – fully-qualified medics who are not specialty staff doctors, consultants or GPs – make up 44% of the doctors in the NHS in Scotland.
The union said previous pay awards for junior doctors in Scotland had delivered real-terms pay cuts of 23.5% since 2008.
It added that, with rises in inflation, this year’s 4.5% uplift was “again being outstripped and the position on pay erosion will be worse by the end of the year”.
The BMA has asked for a 23.5% increase on top of inflation, arguing that it is needed to make up for 15 years of “pay erosion”.
The union said it would begin preparations for a 72-hour walkout if the Scottish government did not put forward a credible offer. Dates for the strike have not been confirmed.
Other NHS Scotland staff previously agreed to pay settlements without their threatened strike action, with nurses, midwives and allied health professionals accepting a 6.5% increase from April on top of a 7.5% pay rise imposed for 2022/23.
Junior doctors in England, who are asking for a 35% pay rise, staged strikes between 13 and 15 March and 11 and 15 April.
UK Health Secretary Steve Barclay described their pay claim as unaffordable, but earlier this week a government spokesman said discussions with the BMA were “constructive” and both parties would meet again in the coming days.
