JUNIOR doctors in Scotland have been told the Scottish Government will not impose a new contract on them which extends their standard working hours.

Health Secretary Shona Robison has issued the reassurance after negotiations broke down with NHS Employers in England over the way trainee doctors will work in future.

Westminster Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has given the BMA until September to negotiate changes to working contracts for hospital consultants and junior doctors to ensure "proper" seven-day services, warning that he is ready to impose a new contract if they cannot agree.

However, David Reid, chair of the Scottish Junior Doctors Committee, has issued an email to trainees in Scotland, saying: "The Scottish Government have given us the assurances we were looking for ... they will not be seeking to impose any new arrangements on trainees in Scotland."

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “In Scotland we are determined to maintain the positive relationships with staff in our NHS that are already in place and work in partnership with them to improve services and meet the challenges of the future.

“This is absolutely the case as regards the current junior doctor contract negotiations. I know the BMA have concerns about the current recommendations made for change on a UK level.

“That is why we will not be seeking to impose any new arrangements in Scotland, and would look to secure any agreement through principled negotiations. We would continue to service the current New Deal Contract for Junior Doctors, and would move towards negotiations when the time is right in Scotland."

The BMA is saying junior doctors will return to the negotiating table with NHS Employers in England if a number of proposals are addressed. These include a plan to extend the hours worked at standard rates of pay from 60 to 90 hours per week. Concern has been expressed that such changes remove safeguards which discourage health authorities from scheduling doctors to work excessive hours.

Targets have been set in Scotland regarding the number of shifts junior doctors are asked to work back to back. This move followed a campaign by the father of a junior doctor who died in a car accident driving home from a night shift.