MORE TROOPS ON THE WAY
As British Army launches rescue mission in Scotland today, UK Minister pledges extra help for ‘struggling’ NHS (and hapless Health Secretary Humza Yousaf )
BRITISH Army troops will stay in Scotland right through the winter to help rescue the crisis-hit NHS – months longer than previously expected.
With lives on the line, the UK Government has made it clear that it is ready to increase support and commit military personnel for the long haul.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack today says that Forces personnel are ‘in for the long run’ to support the country’s ‘struggling’ NHS, and will do ‘what it takes to protect the public’.
He is also ready to answer requests for more troops, beyond the 225 currently deployed.
The Army is already assisting paramedics in Inverness and the Central Belt, and running Covid testing centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow, in an effort to ‘ease the strain on frontline ambulance staff’, he confirmed.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the Scottish Government and Scottish Ambulance Service have insisted that they want support throughout the winter.
That will come as a relief to beleaguered Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, who has endured a torrid few weeks. He admitted
last week that the Scottish Ambulance Service is facing the ‘biggest crisis’ in its history, with the number of missed waiting time targets at A&E wards also at a record high on top of the highest deaths ever for this time of year.
Mr Yousaf has committed a further £20 million to the ambulance service and has sought support from firefighters, taxi drivers and the Red Cross, as well as the military, in an effort to avoid any repeats of the horrific failures seen in recent weeks.
In one tragic case, Gerard Brown, 65, died at his home in Glasgow, after falling and waiting 40 hours for an ambulance to turn up, while frail Lillian Briggs, 86, waited nearly eight hours on her kitchen floor in Edinburgh, after falling and breaking her hip.
After having carried out similar work in the east of England, soldiers are due to start driving non-emergency vehicles in Scotland today.
And the public will be reassured that the British Army now seems certain to stay in Scotland for a longer period.
Last night, Scottish Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr said: ‘The British Army are playing a vital role in reducing ambulance waiting times and freeing up emergency workers.
‘As winter approaches, the Scottish public will appreciate knowing that they are here for as long as it takes.
‘The SNP were failing the service before the pandemic and need to develop a real plan of action to bring waiting times back under control and fully remobilise our NHS.
‘As part of that, planned efficiency savings by the Nationalists shouldn’t go ahead. They should also prepare a detailed strategy to maximise the use of military staff to tackle this crisis.’
Meanwhile, the union which represents paramedics said that long-term support would be needed.
Drew Duffy, of GMB Scotland, said: ‘I can’t see the Army being pulled out again until at least spring. You’re looking at a 20 to 40 per cent increase in calls over winter, due to falls and things like that.’
Writing in today’s Scottish Mail on Sunday, Mr Jack says: ‘Initially two months of support were requested, but let me be crystal clear about timescales. The UK’s Forces are not in any way restricting the amount of time available.
‘We are happy for this operation to go on longer if that’s what the Scottish Government needs and what it takes to help protect the public.’
The Scottish Government has stressed that the current crisis in the ambulance service, and also in A&E units, is a result of the pandemic. However, Covid case numbers have
‘Playing a vital role in reducing waiting times’
declined and the number of deaths from the most recent wave of the virus has been much lower than in previous waves, thanks to the vaccine.
Yesterday, Scotland recorded another 18 coronavirus deaths, as well as a further 3,261 confirmed cases of the virus, with 8.8 per cent of those tested for Covid-19 receiving a positive result.
There were 1,005 people in hospital on Friday with recently confirmed Covid-19, down by six from the previous day.
More than 3.8 million people in Scotland are now double-dosed with the vaccine.
Booster doses are being given to those aged over 50, starting with the most vulnerable, with the vaccination programme also having recently been extended to children aged between 12 and 15.
However, as revealed today in this newspaper, the week of September 1319 saw the highest number of deaths in Scotland for this time of year since records began in 1974.
Deaths from illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, dementia and ‘other’ causes, are all up significantly, meaning the NHS’s problems go way beyond the Covid pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Ambulance Service has said that it is hopeful the Army will stay in place over the winter.
A spokesman said: ‘Winter is traditionally an extremely busy time for the service. Whilst the decision is for the Army, we would be hopeful that support over this period could be accommodated if required.’
A Scottish Government spokesman
said: ‘The Armed Forces will decide the time period for which they are able to provide support.
‘However, there will be an opportunity to keep it under review and we have secured necessary funding to allow them to provide support for longer if it is required.
‘The global pandemic has created the most challenging crisis in the history of the NHS.
‘Ambulance services around the UK, as well as the wider NHS, are experiencing unprecedented demand – largely because of Covid-19, but also due to a combination of increasingly complex cases, and exceptionally busy emergency departments.’
The move to support the ambulance service is just the latest incidence of the British Army being called in to help Scotland since the start of the pandemic.
Last year, military helicopters flew Covid patients in remote areas to hospitals for treatment. The Army was then called in to help set up the temporary NHS Louisa Jordan hospital in Glasgow, amid fears that the NHS would be overwhelmed by the deluge of patients.
Later, when the vaccine rollout began, and amid fears that the Scottish programme was trailing the rest of the UK, the Army was again summoned to set up vaccination centres.
The UK Government has played a key role in helping Scotland through the coronavirus pandemic, and it seems clear that this support will continue for some time to come.
Almost a million Scottish jobs have been underwritten by the Chancellor’s furlough scheme, since the start of the Covid crisis.
Billions of pounds in additional funding has also been passed from the UK to the Scottish Government.