The Scottish Government has confirmed by e-mail to all doctors in training that a new contract will not be imposed on them in Scotland.
SJDC chair David Reid said: ‘I can share with you good news, and confirm that the Scottish Government have given us the assurances we were looking for and have stated that they will not be seeking to impose any new arrangements on trainees in Scotland, and that they will continue to service the current New Deal contract.
This news comes in the same week that the UK BMA announced that it will not negotiate junior doctor contracts with the Department of Health, who have threatened to impose controversial contracts unilaterally.
Following the Scottish governmental announcement, the BMA Scottish JDC approached the Scottish Government to seek its position on the situation in the UK.
‘BMA Scotland will work closely with the Scottish Government in the days and weeks ahead, whilst keeping a close eye on any UK developments, and we will keep junior doctors in Scotland informed as much as possible.’
New fears of a 'two tier' system arose following this announcement, with many junior doctors saying that Scotland may become a more attractive place to train if contracts remain under the New Deal.
A Welsh government opinion is yet to be determined, but a similar decision not to follow the Department of Health's recommendations would put the new contract proposals at the centre of a training debate across the UK, with a potential divide in training contracts across member nations.
Read the NHS Survival team's response to these developments.
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