AS a colorectal and general surgeon at Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary, Patrick Collins regularly works an extra 20 hours a month to lower waiting times and help meet cancer targets. 

However, he admits that pension charges have driven him to cut back on Waiting List Initiative (WLI) work which would typically allow an extra three or four major bowel cancer operations to be completed each month. 

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Mr Collins said: “My seven other full time surgical colleagues will be in a similar situation.

"Our hospital has one of the highest consultant vacancy rates in Scotland and management rely on us doing WLI work to keep waiting times down and to help us meet cancer treatment targets. 

“If we are not doing WLI work, patients will have to wait longer for important investigations and cancer surgery to their detriment.”

Read more: Pensions crisis could be worse for NHS than Brexit

In NHS Borders, Amanda Cotton has been landed with an £18,000 tax bill after taking on overtime and on-call work two years ago in addition to her clinical work when her predecessor left to become the health board's medical director. 

Ms Cotton, associate medical director for mental health and learning disability services, said: “In that financial year my earnings were around £2,000 over a threshold, resulting in a pension tax bill of over £18,000. 

"I feel like I’m being punished for taking on added responsibilities and working to keep our service staffed and safe. 

“I find myself in my early 40s seriously considering my options: reducing my sessional input, relinquishing the AMD role or even working overseas.”

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At Ninewells hospital in Dundee, a consultant anaesthetist - who asked to remain anonymous - said he believes he faces a significant tax bill but is "not quite sure the magnitude of it yet".

He added: "I think the NHS pension trap is a ridiculous situation that is resulting in me and many of my friends and colleagues reducing their NHS workload, making us reluctant to agree to do extra sessions to service lengthening NHS waiting lists at a time when there is a workforce shortage. 

"It is self-defeating and the medical workforce shortage will only worsen as a result at a time when demand in rising across the board. 

"We are sleep walking into an NHS that is unable to cope and I feel dismayed and angry.

"Many of my peers aged in mid to late 50s are keen to work more but are unwise to do so because of the high tax rates on this extra work."