Request for additional military personnel approved

Requests for military assistance at three health boards in Scotland have been approved.

NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Grampian and NHS Lanarkshire will receive the support from service personnel to help manage growing pressures as a result of Omicron.

They will begin inductions at the boards in January after the MACA (Military Assistance for Civilian Authorities) support was approved by the Scottish Government.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: "The emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is adding to the winter pressures usually faced by the NHS which is why boards, like their counterparts across the UK,  have requested military support to complement our existing resources. 

"I'm  grateful to military personnel for their efforts at this time, along with all frontline staff in our NHS for the vital  role they play in help keeping us safe.

"At this time it is also particularly important that we continue to take all precautions to prevent transmission. So test regularly for the virus, limit socialising in the run up to Christmas, wear face marks where required and open windows to improve ventilation.”

Background

The following MACA requests have been approved by the Scottish Government: 

• NHS Ayrshire &Arran - 20 service personnel for for 6 weeks.
• NHS Grampian – 38 x service personnel for 4 weeks.     
• Lanarkshire – 32 x service personnel for 4 weeks.

Military personnel will start inductions on January 7th.