Army and Fire service in NHS: FOI release

Information requested

All written communication, including associated briefings, to and from Ministers for the past six months relating to the use of the British Army or Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in supporting any NHS Board or NHS Service this winter.

Response

There has been no written communication, between 1 May and 31 October 2022, to and from Ministers relating to the use of the British Army or Scottish Fire and Rescue Support in supporting any NHS Board or NHS Service this winter.

Any request for military support to civilian authorities (MACA), including NHS Boards, must meet the MACA principles and should be able to demonstrate that all other potential avenues to address resourcing issues have been thoroughly investigated and discounted. All military support provided to NHS Scotland in response to last winters pressures ceased from 31st March 2022. There have been no requests from NHS Boards in Scotland for MACA support this winter and any requests that are received will be considered in line with established protocols.

The Scottish Ambulance Service and the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service have worked together at an operational level to identify opportunities for mutual support based on their experience of working together last winter.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.