A hospital consultant has been made redundant following a five-year long wrangle involving her Scottish health trust bosses.

Dr Pamela Stephen, now Harper, was suspended on full pay in 1995 from her job as geriatrician at Perth Royal Infirmary.

The action was taken after the medic's colleagues raised concerns about her "working methods".

A spokeswoman for Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed on Sunday that Dr Harper had been made redundant.

She explained that an internal investigation took place and the 41-year-old consultant was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Turned down post

Dr Harper was then reinstated in 1998 after agreeing to undergo a retraining programme.

That was completed at the beginning of this year and the doctor was offered another consultants' post at another hospital, Stracathro Hospital in Forfar.

However, she turned down that down and is no longer employed by the trust.

When Dr Harper was suspended five years ago she was allowed to continue to draw her �70,000 annual salary.

Newspaper reports on Sunday said the doctor was now preparing to take the trust to court to seek compensation which could amount to more than �1m.

Failed to 'obey rules'

Dr Harper's solicitor Ian McFatridge is reported to have accused the trust of acting in an "extremely arrogant and insensitive" manner towards his client.

He added that the trust had failed to obey its own rules and it had breached its 1998 agreement with Dr Harper.

It is believed that Dr Harper will claim she could have worked for another 20 years with a total salary of well over �1m.

Dr Stephen, as she was in 1995, was a senior consultant in charge of 30 acute beds and 100 long stay beds when she was suspended.

Professor David Lowson of the Royal College of Physicians carried out an investigation of the claims against her and called for her reinstatement.