An NHS executive received a near-£400,000 redundancy payment when she retired from a senior role in Scotland's NHS earlier this year, newly published figures show. Mary Morgan was handed £378,000 "under contractual redundancy terms" when she retired as chief executive of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) in May, after a 44-year career in the health service.

The payment is disclosed in the NHS NSS accounts for 2025/26, which show that Morgan retired under contractual redundancy terms from Public Services Delivery (PSD) Scotland on 3 May and received a related amount of £378,000. The same accounts show her pension pot, known as the Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, is just over £2 million. Morgan, who earned between £160,000 and £165,000 a year, had been chief executive of NHS NSS since 2021.

Why the payment was made

NHS NSS was merged into a new quango called Public Services Delivery (PSD) Scotland in April, leaving Morgan's role defunct. BBC Scotland had asked NHS NSS on 10 March what would happen to Morgan once her post disappeared, and the answer is now clear from the published accounts: she retired on 3 May, concluding what PSD Scotland described as an "exceptional" 44-year career in NHS Scotland.

A PSD Scotland spokesperson said: "Mary Morgan retired on 3 May, concluding an exceptional 44-year career in NHS Scotland. All payment received was in accordance to the terms and conditions of her employment." The BBC reported that it had approached Morgan, but she declined to comment.

Wider NHS redundancy picture

The payment comes as the NHS faces scrutiny over the cost of restructuring. A National Audit Office report published on 4 November found that NHS England's plan to cut costs and restructure integrated care boards requires the loss of 8,000 staff, and that £582 million was spent on redundancy payments in 2025-26 alone. About 3,700 integrated care board staff had already been made redundant between November 2025 and June 2026, mostly through redundancy schemes, according to the watchdog's findings reported by Nursing Times.

Morgan's case is separate from the English restructuring, because NHS Scotland is run by the Scottish Government, but it illustrates the same pattern: senior roles disappearing as health bodies are merged, with contractual redundancy terms producing large exit payments. The Scottish Government has maintained a policy against compulsory redundancies in the public sector since 2007, which means displaced staff are redeployed or leave on agreed terms rather than being dismissed.

The figures were reported by BBC Scotland on 9 November 2026. The underlying accounts are published by National Services Scotland, and the BBC's report is available here.