per head

"Real household disposable income per head showed no growth," ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said.

But much of the increase has already been swallowed up by Scottish government decisions to raise salaries for public sector workers who, according to the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University, are both more numerous per head and, "on average, paid more in Scotland," than those elsewhere in the UK.

Mr Coldwells said there was no "single solution" to these problems and added NHS Grampian has the lowest number of hospital beds per head of population in Scotland.

The Scottish government has said it needs another £500m but a population-based share of what is spent on this kind of compensation in England is unlikely to deliver that amount because Scotland employs a larger number of health and education workers per head.

However, when you take into consideration only those who are eligible for gynaecology, per head of population gynae services are on a par with the worst waits in Wales, and worse than England or Scotland.