Professional, proficient and primed for action... a quality British asset

IT is reassuring in this time of crisis – when we are told our NHS faces one of its worst winters in decades – to know we can rely on the help of Britain’s Armed Forces.

Even as you are reading this, uniformed personnel are directly supporting the Scottish Ambulance Service, which has been struggling to cope with a prolonged surge in demand.

And our Forces are also once again helping with Covid testing, vital as we cement the gains the UK Government’s world-leading vaccination programme has delivered in the fight against a virus still wreaking havoc across the globe.

Forces personnel are among our brightest and best. They offer rapid solutions – the British military is always ready to deploy at the drop of a hat – but they are also here for the long run.

It’s worth taking a moment to consider how we bring this incredible resource into action. The system is called MACA, Military Assistance to the Civilian Authorities, and in the past it has seen troops respond to floods, wildfires and 2018’s Beast from the East snowstorms.

A request for help flashes through the system and comes to my desk at the Scotland Office for approval, and then on to the MoD for action.

Every request on my watch has had an immediate response, and everything asked for has been given unstintingly. On this occasion, the need was for drivers to take the wheel on routine calls and for logistical support to ease the strain on frontline ambulance staff, to ensure they can respond to the demands of blue-light emergencies.

There was also a call for help with mobile Covid testing stations, something our Forces handled with alacrity during lockdown.

So we have 225 service men and women in action, 114 on non-emergency work with the Scottish Ambulance Service, mainly in Inverness and the Central Belt, with the balance on Covid duty, setting up and running testing centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

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.

I am pleased that we are able to work together as one to bring a quality UK asset such as the military to bear on problems.

I say with confidence that if our NHS here in Scotland continues to struggle as winter bites, the UK military stands ready with much more help, which they can deliver in a heartbeat.