Doctors, nurses and all hospital staff have been underpaid for years. The rises announced today look great on paper when compared with baseline inflation figures but its well know that the Scottish section of the NHS has been squeezed dry by trust based institutions South of the Border.

Given this fact, where is the cash for pay rises to come from?

The SNP health spokeswoman Kay Ullrich said: "The Government has stated that the increase in salary is to come from the existing budget. The NHS in Scotland is already under-funded and stretched to the absolute limit: where is the additional money for the pay increase going to come from?"