NHS board members have been handed “staggering” 30 per cent pay rises at a time thousands of Scots are stuck on waiting lists for treatment.
The SNP Government last month signed-off on increased day rates for the chairpersons and non-executive members of Scotland’s 14 regional health boards.
Board members will be paid a uniform daily rate of £225 from April 1 next year, an increase of £51.34 and a 30 per cent rise overall.
The chairs of NHS Greater Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Lothian and Grampian will see their day rates increase from £287 to £352 – a 22 per cent rise.
Non-executive board members must commit to working 52 days a year, an average of eight hours per week.
The pay hikes were confirmed the week before the Scottish Government announced it would spend a record £21 billion on health and social care in 2024/25.
It will see an extra £2 billion handed to the NHS in an attempt reduce the waiting times that have soared since the coronavirus pandemic.
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour health spokeswoman, said: “Scottish Labour has been clear — when delayed discharge is at a record high and nearly one in six Scots are on an NHS waiting list, the SNP should ensure that any extra money goes to fund frontline staff.
“Scottish Labour would reduce the number of NHS boards to reduce bureaucracy and ensure our precious NHS resources are focused on ensuring patients get the help they need.”
James O’Connell, lead NHS negotiator for Unite’ the union, said: “It’s staggering at a time when the health and emergency services are having to fight for every penny of investment that NHS board pay is rising by 29.6 per cent.
“The bitter irony will not be lost on every NHS worker or those in the Scottish Ambulance Service that those board members who are presiding over cuts and a lack of investment into frontline services are rewarding themselves with eye-watering pay rises.
“Health workers have had to fight and battle for every extra pound in their pay packets for years but the same rules don’t seem to apply to NHS bosses.
“The Scottish Government needs to urgently clarify why the public sector pay guidelines in this case are being scandalously abused. The decision-makers are breaking the bank to feather their own nests while our hospitals, A&E units and ambulance crews are at breaking point.”
SNP ministers were last week warned “difficult decisions” may need to be made about whether some services can continue to be provided by the NHS.
A review by Audit Scotland said a clear plan was lacking – and that fundamental change in how NHS services are provided is “urgently needed” to cope with growing demand.
The annual report into the health sector found that, despite increased spending and staffing in the NHS, Scotland is seeing fewer patients than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Members of Health Boards currently receive amongst the lowest rates of remuneration in the public sector and we’ve taken steps to bring this into line with other comparable public bodies.”
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