Health boards in Scotland are paying more than 3000 staff £100,000 a year with more than 800 of those earning more than First Minister Alex Salmond’s salary of almost £140,000.
The biggest board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, has 893 staff taking home more than £100,000, with 181 earning more than the First Minister.
It is almost double the number in Lothian, where 455 employees earn more than £100,000. Of those, 138 are paid more than Mr Salmond.
The figures were uncovered by the Labour Party in response to Freedom of Information requests.
Jackie Baillie, the party’s health spokeswoman, said the pay levels in the 22 boards were astonishing.
She said: “We really need to have a hard look at this. In the current economic climate, it is impossible to justify huge salaries for consultants and senior executives when health boards are planning 4000 job losses this year, including 1500 nurses and midwives.
“I would urge every health board to examine whether they can make savings by cutting the number of managers and reducing the salaries of top earners.
“This is a far better option than cutting frontline staff like nurses and midwives. In tough financial times we need to make sure that our focus is on patient care and every penny is spent in the most efficient way.”
Ms Baillie said it did not make sense that the NHS in Scotland employed twice as many managers and administrators per head as the NHS in England. Official figures also show there are 50% more people employed as administrators than there are doctors and nurses in the NHS in Scotland.
Ms Baillie said the Scottish Government should address the issue in the Budget by announcing an immediate reduction in the number of special boards, merging some and bringing others back into government or devolving the functions to area health boards.
The eight special boards, all of which have their own management structure, are NHS Education, NHS Health Scotland, NHS National Services, NHS 24, NHS Quality Improvement Service, Golden Jubilee, Scottish Ambulance Service and the State Hospital.
Ms Baillie said: “I believe that most Scots understand that a country our size doesn’t need 22 separate boards, and by cutting bureaucracy we can free up resources to reinvest in frontline patient care.”
Labour also plans to scrap the consultants’ bonus scheme.
Unison, the biggest health service union, said there were questions to be asked about the number and scale of the payments.
Regional Officer Matt McLaughlin said: “Unison doesn’t begrudge anybody the rate of pay for the job but obviously our membership will be concerned that while they are to face a pay freeze and people delivering frontline services are losing their jobs, there is a cohort of folk who appear to earn more than the most senior politician in the land.”
Earlier this month, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon announced measures that she said were tougher than anywhere else in the UK to rein in distinction awards to medical consultants.
The scheme has been frozen at last year’s cost of £28m and next year will be cut by £2m by not granting new awards when existing recipients retire.
Over 800  staff in Scotland are earning more than 140,000 each year—more than First Minister Alex Salmond. New figures also reveal that 3,000 NHS workers are earning over £100,000. One NHS board alone, , employs 893 staff earning more than £100,000, and 181 being paid over £140,000. 

, health spokeswoman for the Labour Party, which uncovered the figures, said they were "astonishing", and urged health boards to examine if savings can be made by reducing salaries of top earners. "This is a far better option than cutting frontline staff like nurses and midwives. In tough financial times we need to make sure that our focus is on patient care and every penny is spent in the most efficient way." She further said: “In the current economic climate, it is impossible to justify huge salaries for consultants and senior executives when health boards are planning 4000 job losses this year, including 1500  and ."

Britain's largest health service industrial union, , questioned the amount of money the NHS was paying. A spokesperson said: "Unison doesn’t begrudge anybody the rate of pay for the job but obviously our membership will be concerned that while they are to face a pay freeze and people delivering frontline services are losing their jobs, there is a cohort of folk who appear to earn more than the most senior politician in the land."