FM: Tough winter ahead

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has admitted Scotland’s hospitals face a “very challenging winter” as concerns over capacity grow stronger.

A surge in Covid-19 cases on top of a traditionally busy winter season has already stretched many units including at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, where hospital chiefs confirmed last week that they were sitting at 90 per cent capacity.

It has led to warnings from doctors of a“perfect storm”over the coming months as issues around a lack of available beds and staff shortages hamper efforts to tackle rising numbers requiring treatment.

The issue was raised by opposition leaders at Holyrood on Thursday and led the First Minister to express confidence that Scotland was not currently short of beds or staff to cope and said hospital and ICU numbers for this week offered“very cautious grounds for optimism”.

However, she stressed there was“no room for complacency”and said a cautious approach would be undertaken in the coming weeks.

Ms Sturgeon added: “Nobody should be under any doubt - not just here in Scotland but globally, as we go into this winter, we face acute challenges, challenges that may be greater than any of us have ever lived through, because we are living through a global pandemic.”

“That means governments have a responsibility, and I and the government take that responsibility very, very seriously indeed.

“What we want to see, going into winter, to protect the country, to protect the NHS, and to save lives, is a reduction in the number of cases - and that will be a factor as we make our decisions in the next few days.

“This is a time like never before - in our everyday behaviour, all of us have to put that into practice and behave in a way that will protect that National Health Service.”