LNCRDS and SRDC elections open on 29 July 2026.
Webinar - 30 July at 6pm
Join our online webinar to hear from SRDC's chair and deputy chairs as they share experiences and ways for Scottish resident doctors to get involved in the BMA.
About SRDC
The SRDC represents all doctors in training in hospitals and public health medicine practice in Scotland. Views from around the country are brought together to form national policy.
Our current priorities
Pay restoration campaign
In late 2025, SRDC entered an industrial dispute with the Scottish Government after the initial pay offer was judged insufficient to meet the 2023 agreement or provide credible progress towards pay restoration. Members backed strike action by over 97% on a 58% turnout and later accepted a 2025–27 pay offer by 97.1% on a 62.4% turnout. The deal delivers average uplifts of 9.9% in 2025/26 and 9.4% in 2026/27 through pay increases, staged uplifts, pay point progression and contract reform, leaving Scottish resident doctors just under 6% from full pay restoration while maintaining the commitment to further progress and accountability.
Contract reform and pay review
The 2025–27 deal commits to continued resident doctor contract reform negotiations and a new pay review mechanism by August 2026, with the aim of improving pay scales, terms and conditions, supporting pay restoration and preventing future erosion. If a new contract is accepted in 2026/27, revised pay scales are expected to replace the December 2026 pay point increase, with members fully informed and balloted before any agreement is accepted.
Education and training
SRDC continues to engage with PSD Scotland, formerly NHS Education for Scotland, and the Scottish Government on education and training issues, including recruitment, IMT, training pathways, training budgets, rota approval, bottlenecks and employment challenges.
The Scottish Government has confirmed urgent action for those entering specialty training in 2026, supported by 2026/27 Budget funding for all specialty training posts, whole-time equivalent recruitment, and around a 10% increase in available posts targeted to workforce need.
Doctors underemployed and unemployed
SRDC continues to press for Scotland-specific data, longer-term workforce planning and a substantial increase in training places, while contributing to the Future Medical Workforce Project, wider workforce planning work, and regulations under the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act.
Rotational training
SRDC has preliminarily supported the Foundation Programme pilot in Scotland, in which 10% of foundation posts include eight-month rotations to improve continuity, belonging and transition, while raising concerns about potential financial detriment and work patterns for evaluation.
Rotas in advance
SRDC continues to work with NHS Scotland employers, PSD Scotland and the Scottish Government to improve timely rota issuing. Joint guidance ahead of the August 2025 rotation set out employer recommendations and implementation best practice.
A joint survey of NHS Scotland Boards on August 2025 rota issuing has concluded, with analysis ongoing to identify and standardise improvements for future rotations.
How to join
Why get involved?
There are many benefits to becoming involved in BMA committees. Committee roles give members the opportunity to influence BMA policy-making and negotiations, represent the views of colleagues, and develop leadership skills.
Members can get involved in the BMA by standing as elected representatives. BMA representatives play a vital role in representing doctors’ interests in the workplace.
If you would like to negotiate for and represent doctors in your workplace, you could stand to become an elected representative for your LNC or LNCRDS, and as a regional representative on SRDC. Election details are set out below
In these short clips, current members of SRDC share their experiences and why they got involved:
If you're keen on getting involved in your BMA as a resident doctor in Scotland on a regional or national level at the BMA download our booklet to find out more.
Ways to get involved
There are lots of ways in which you can get involved and support your fellow doctors, at regional and national levels. No prior experience or knowledge is required. We will give you all the training and support you need to fully participate. Your voice can make a difference.
Open to all BMA members who are resident doctors working in Scotland.
Each area has 30 seats available, with eligibility based on your lead employer rather than your employment base. Additionally. LNCRDS / PDSLNC is offering nominees the chance to express their interest in becoming one of the LNCRDS / NES LNC representatives for SRDC during the 2026-27 session.
BMA LNCs (Local Negotiating Committees) represent doctors of all grades, including resident doctors, who are employed directly by health boards in Scotland. The BMA has an LNC in almost every territorial health board in Scotland and in most non-territorial special health boards. For the territorial Board Lead Employers of resident doctors, there are also dedicated Resident Doctor Sub-committees (LNCRDS) made up of accredited BMA Representatives tasked with discussing and negotiating issues specific to resident doctors in Scotland.
The role of LNCRDS is to ensure that national terms and conditions of service (TCS) are applied, to provide a formal mechanism to negotiate any proposed changes to local contractual arrangements and to negotiate around any flexibilities that exist in national agreements. They have a mandate to negotiate issues affecting terms and conditions of service, working arrangements or other matters affecting doctors’ working lives. To help make communication between members interesting and dynamic, there are online forums for each LNCRDS called the LNCRDS listserver. This is a confidential email group for LNCRDS members for discussion and for sharing information/documents.
Resident Doctor subcommittees (LNCRDS) are established in three of the Lead Employer board LNCs:
- NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (West)
- NHS Lothian (East)
- NHS Grampian (North)
LNC meetings
There are four meetings per session which normally take place before the SRDC committee meetings. Meetings are normally scheduled for 2 hours and the LNC reps will decide on dates and at times that suit the majority.
Attend your next LNCRDS meeting - contact your LNCRDS to find out when your next meeting will be held:
- NHS Lothian (South East Scotland) [email protected]
- NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (West) [email protected]
- NHS Grampian (North) [email protected]
- NHS Education for Scotland (NES) LNC (Scotland) [email protected]
Three directly elected (national seats). These seats are open to all BMA resident doctors working in Scotland.
Eight resident doctor seats from Scottish council are offered voting seats on SRDC on a three-term basis
SRDC EDI statement
We are committed to creating an open and inclusive culture at the BMA. BMA and SRDC is committed to addressing current resident doctor representativeness. We encourage nominations from members who are underrepresented on our elected structures, including women, members from an ethnic minority background, LGBTQ+ members, and members who are disabled, neurodivergent or have a long-term condition, and those with caring responsibilities.
Support for committee members
- Committee mentoring scheme to support the development of committee members by matching them with more experienced committee members based on their needs.
- Resident doctors have access to training and development programmes to further support them in their role.
- We provide a range of care support arrangements to allow members to fully participate in the role - this includes the BMA Family friendly fund.
Take part in one of our free courses designed to give you the right skills to:
- break down equality and inclusion bias (CPD-accredited)
- value difference and inclusivity
- live our BMA behaviour principles.
Our meetings
We meet four times a year to discuss issues of key importance to doctors in training.
These meetings are open to members of the SRDC only. Non-voting committee members can also come along and participate as part of the BMA committee visitors' scheme.
2026-27 committee dates:
- Thursday 24 September 2026 (hybrid)
- Wednesday 16 December 2026 (virtual)
- Thursday 18 March 2027 (virtual)
- Wednesday 2 June 2027 (hybrid)
All meetings will take place either virtually or at:
BMA Scotland
14 Queen Street
Edinburgh
EH2 1LL.
Elections
The election section below is kept up to date with details about any running elections, so make sure you keep checking it throughout the year.
LNCRDS / PSD LNC election
Open to all BMA members who are resident doctors working in Scotland.
LNCRDS / PSD LNC election dates
- Nominations open: 9am on 29 July 2026
- Nominations close: noon on 7 August 2026
- Voting opens: 2pm on 7 August 2026 (if necessary)
- Voting closes: noon on 12 August 2026
Scottish resident doctor committee (SRDC) elections
Three directly elected (national seats). These seats are open to all BMA resident doctors working in Scotland.
- Nominations open: 9am on 29 July 2026
- Nominations close: noon on 10 August 2026
- Voting opens: 2pm on 10 August 2026 (if necessary)
- Voting closes: 12 noon on 17 August 2026.
Scottish council elections
Scottish council elections are now closed for the 2026-29 session.
Our people
Chair:
Chris Smith (supernumerary)
Deputy chairs:
Andrew Donnelly (responsible for negotiations)
Rebecca Aces & Elizabeth Chandler (responsible for education and training)
Voting members
North of Scotland LNCRDS
Taylor Allen-Moore
Maximillian Head Fourman
Gwen Weisner
Southeast of Scotland LNCRDS
Scott McKinnon
Conor Hughes
Andrew Donnelly
West of Scotland LNCRDS
Sabrina Blanton-Rich
Michael Deighan
Aodhan Foster
Chris Hill
Hannah Lawler
Vaclav Loffelmann
NES LNC
Rebecca Acres
Ronald MacDonald
Samson Ogunlarin
Directly elected national seats
Oliver David Bond
Elizabeth Sarah Chandler
Matthew Hastings
Resident doctors elected to Scottish council
Tom Dale Maclaine
Benjamin J Forrest
Catriona McAleer
Lucas O’Donnell
Sharandeep Singh
Chris Smith
Rhys Taylor
Non-voting members
Chair of Scottish council - Iain Kennedy
UK RDC (resident doctors committee) chair – Jack Fletcher
WRDC (Welsh resident doctors committee) chair – Dr Thomas Grother / Dr Will Atkins
NIRDC (Northern Ireland resident doctors committee) chair – Rachel Roberts
UKRDC mbrs resident in Scotland, if not already SRDC mbrs – Rebecca Acres, Ronald MacDonald
UKMASC (Medical Academic Staff Committee) – Jonathan Gibb
Scottish consultants committee – Daniel Wilkes
Scottish GPs committee – Stuart Blake
Scottish staff, associate specialists & specialty doctors committee - TBC
Scottish medical students committee - Grace Charlton, Ellie Ferguson
Up to two co-opted members - Lucy Jones and Joshua Thomson
Observers
Scottish Academy Trainee Doctors' Group – Alasdair McFadyen
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh - Navnit Makaram
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh - TBC
Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow - TBC
Resources
Download our posters and check out our other resources on how you can get involved as a resident doctor in Scotland and share these widely and on social media.
- What you can expect as a committee member
- Committee mentoring scheme to support the development of committee members by matching them with more experienced committee members based on their needs.
- Visitor scheme - attend meetings of SRDC for 2026-27 session
- Resident doctors have access to training and development programmes to further support them in their role.
- We provide a range of care support arrangements to allow members to fully participate in the role – this includes the BMA Family friendly fund.
- Find out more about getting involved in your BMA as a resident doctor in Scotland.
- Scottish resident doctor ward walk guide
- Briefing and FAQs for Scottish resident doctors committee elections
The BMA is working to meet the challenges that women face in the medical profession.
Stand for a BMA committee and be part of this change.