Junior doctors in Scotland have overwhelmingly voted to accept the latest pay offer from the Scottish Government, bringing their dispute to an end.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said the result of its consultative vote saw 81.64 per cent vote in favour of the offer, on a turnout of 71.24 per cent.
The deal will see junior doctors in Scotland receive a pay rise of 12.4 per cent, backdated to April.
As part of the agreement, the BMA and Scottish Government will also hold “yearly negotiations” that must make “credible progress” towards full pay restoration to 2008 levels.
Dr Chris Smith, chairman of the BMA's Scottish Junior Doctor Committee (SJDC), said: “This offer moves us from a position where pay restoration was a strongly-held conviction within our profession to a shared goal that the Scottish Government has publicly committed to working with us to complete.
“Earlier this year, junior doctors in Scotland said enough is enough - they were clear that they will no longer stand aside and accept any more sub-inflationary pay awards year after year.”
Junior doctors in Scotland had been planning to take strike action before the latest offer by ministers.
Scotland's Health Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Due to the meaningful engagement we have had with trade unions, we have avoided any industrial action in Scotland - the only part of the UK to avoid NHS strikes.
“We will now implement this pay uplift and will work with BMA to take forward the other aspects of the deal including contract and pay bargaining reform.”
Junior doctors in England remain in dispute with the Government after holding a fifth round of a strike action last week.
As the four-day walkout ended at 7am on Tuesday, health minister Will Quince insisted that negations on pay are over but said he is “open” to discuss other issues including working environments.
In July the Government announced that junior doctors will receive pay rises of 6 per cent, along with an additional consolidated £1,250 increase, and hospital consultants will also receive 6 per cent.
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NHS officials have suggested that the action will have led to thousands of appointments, operations and procedures being postponed.
Meanwhile, data published by NHS England last Thursday revealed waiting lists climbed to a record high of 7.6 million in June.
It comes after junior doctor members of HCSA Scotland, the union representing hospital doctors, on Tuesday voted to accept the Scottish Government pay deal.
