The official figures, which were revealed in a parliamentary answer to Conservative Shadow Health Secretary Jackson Carlaw MSP, show that the total sum rose by 280 per cent last year, increasing from £7.7m in 2005-06 to £21.5m in 2006-07. 

Carlaw said that Scots will be “shocked” by the figures.

He said: “This dwarfs the £2.8m paid out during the first year of devolution and the previous post devolution high of £8.7m.

“At a time when taxes have risen to an all time high and we are constantly told that investment in our health service stands at record levels people have a right to ask why clinical negligence payouts are spiralling out of control.”

He said the figures also show significant regional variation, with payments rising from £59,000 to £7.2m in Lothian, from £288,000 to £4.4m in Forth Valley and from £1.8m to £2.5m in Highland.

He continued: “Perhaps the most striking aspect of the written answer is that Nicola Sturgeon provides no explanation for these increases.

“A series of further questions therefore spring to mind. Do these increases result from a growing number of more serious clinical errors, the ‘compensation culture’ or a bit of both? Who is being held accountable? Have staff been disciplined? What is the government doing to get to grips with this issue? What are the future implications for front line services?

“I shall be tabling additional parliamentary questions along these very lines to establish the full facts behind these alarming statistics.”