The pay increase on offer to GPs in Scotland this year will not make up for years of lost funding, says the doctor’s union.

BMA Scotland says it has warned the Scottish government that it will enter into “formal dispute” if next year’s pay uplift fails to restore GPs’ eroded income.

Against the backdrop of large pay increases for other senior doctors, the union says it will now survey its GP members on what they believe the next steps should be – including their views on strike action if its demands are not met next year.

GPs have been offered a total funding uplift of 7.5% this year to support the running of their local practices, which is designed to leave enough money left over for a 6% wage increase.

It comes just weeks after consultant doctors were offered a 10.5% pay rise, following their own formal dispute with the Scottish government.

BMA Scotland now says it is concerned about the growing gap between the pay of GPs and consultant doctors in Scotland, which will “further erode” the number of doctors choosing a career in general practice.

The number of GPs in Scotland has fallen in recent years, while nearly half (48%) of GPs in Scotland recently told the union they are struggling to manage their workloads.

The chair and deputy chairs of the BMA’s Scottish general practitioners committee have said in a blog post:

“While consultants have travelled a different path to reach that pay offer from Scottish government, there is no doubt that the growing gap between consultant and GP earnings will only further erode the numbers of doctors choosing careers in general practice.

“This cannot be allowed to continue, and we have put Scottish government on notice that formal dispute with GPs is inevitable if this direction of travel continues to be pursed.”

The 6% pay uplift for GPs is in line with the recommendation of the Doctors and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB).

BMA Scotland agreed to take part in the DDRB process this year, limiting the union’s ability to take action in response to the pay uplift this year.

The BMA’s Scottish general practitioners committee leaders say they “understand and sympathise” that many GPs will be impatient for action.

They have confirmed that the union is accelerating plans to fight for and mobilise GPs across the country before the next pay award – but that the entire profession will need to get behind them if they are to engage in formal dispute with the Scottish government in the future.

The Scotland GP leaders say:

“The optimism we expressed in our previous blog, that we can build a fresh relationship with the Scottish government based on a properly funded and resourced GP workforce being the solution to the NHS crisis we face, remains.

“This uplift, however, and the prioritisation of other parts of the NHS for investment, shows that we have a strenuous and challenging path ahead to convince others.

“As your representatives, it is a path we will follow unrelentingly, with the aim of delivering the brighter future for the profession we still believe is possible.”

healthandcare.scot has tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with the Scottish government for a response.

Read more: “Constructive talks” on doctors’ pay underway; GPs in ‘moral distress’ over drug shortage crisis; NHS is not a ‘political football’, warns BMA