Coronavirus: Scotland's NHS placed on emergency footing

Nicola Sturgeon has put the NHS on an emergency footing to deal with coronavirus.

The Scottish Government is also looking at buying food for those who might not be able to feed themselves and will protect those who may face losing their homes, in what Nicola Sturgeon had described as the "biggest peacetime mission our nation has undertaken in our lifetimes".

As news broke of a second death from coronavirus, the First Minister updated MSPs in Holyrood on the stringent measures introduced in an attempt to delay the spread of the coronavirus infection among the Scottish public.

She said Scotland was facing an “unprecedented challenge”, that the country was on the cusp of a “rapid acceleration” in the spread of the Covid-19 virus, with changes “essential” to save lives.

Addressing and suppressing the spread of the disease, was she said, “the biggest peace time mission our nation has undertaken in our lifetimes” and urged a “collective endeavour” to meet the challenge.

As a result, the NHS has been placed on an emergency footing for three months, to ensure a "swift and radical change” in the way it operates.

Describing it as the “most rapid reconfiguration of our health service in its 71 year history,” Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said that there would be:

– a doubling of intensive care unit capacity, with staff trained and facilities repurposed

– a contingency supply of oxygen for hospital and community use out in place

– an increase in bed capacity from 13,000 to 16,000

– the suspension of non-urgent elective operations – although vital cancer treatments, emergency, maternity, and urgent care will continue

a “rapid reduction” in delayed discharges with the goal of a reduction of at least 400 by the end of this month

– the use of beds in the private health sector

– that retired staff would be asked to return to the healthcare profession

– the deployment of senior students in both nursing, allied health professions and medicine into appropriate settings

Ms Freeman said that the scale of the challenge was “without precedent”. She said there had been 195 positive cases of coronavirus recorded in Scotland, but “we know the true figure of infections will be substantially higher.” She also told MSPs of two reported deaths of patients who had tested positive.

“We are asking our society to take some truly unprecedented steps to suppress the spread of this infection and minimise its impact,” she said.

“As we work to suppress this infection we will continue a strong testing regime that will ensure key workers, such as frontline NHS staff, will be tested so that they do not self-isolate unnecessarily.

“As the First Minister said earlier this week, we are scaling up of Covid-19 surveillance testing which will give us a more accurate picture of how the infection is spreading in certain areas. This will help direct where we can best place resources to try and save lives. This surveillance will be increased 5-fold to give an accurate overview of an area with a population of around 1.2 million people.”

Ms Freeman said the specific measures were being put in place for those who were immunosuppressed, and that the NHS would directly contact them next week to advise them of “the stringent measures you need to take to keep yourself and others safe.”

Further advice has gone to long term care facilities caring for the frail and people with complex needs and that discussions were ongoing with Scottish Care and COSLA about “what more can be done to ensure the overall wellbeing of residents in long-term care homes.”

She added: “In years to come when people look back there will be a time before this infection outbreak and a time after – it is a watershed moment in our nation, in our world and most certainly in our NHS.

“We are doing and will continue to do everything we can to protect and save lives – but this is going to take everyone. We all have a responsibility – and we need everyone’s help.”

Nicola Sturgeon also stressed that in asking people to “take unprecedented actions”, the response from government “must also be unprecedented.”

“The next weeks and possibly months will be immensely difficult. I know that for everyone this is a deeply anxious time. People want to do the right thing to protect their own health – and they also want to do the right thing for their loved ones and for the wider community.

“The steps we are recommending – isolating yourself if you or people you live with show symptoms; minimising social contact; washing hands for 20 seconds; not touching your face – all of these things really matter. By following them, we will all be helping to save lives.

“We face a shared national challenge – and we will need a collective national endeavour to meet it. “

Ms Sturgeon said she wanted to share “heartfelt thanks” to staff in health and social care services, and said she was “acutely aware of how serious the impact” is on businesses and households, and that the changes could “cause an economic emergency.”

“We have already announced some support for business and we are urgently considering what more we can do,” she said. “We are also speaking to the UK government about what more they will do for business, and we will set out further actions as soon as possible.

“We will also be making more information available in coming days on support for those individuals in financial difficulty.”

Asked by Scottish Green MSP Alison Johnstone about an amnesty on rent arrears and a no evictions policy to help those fearing they could lose their homes, Nicola Sturgeon said that was what the government was seeking to deliver.

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell added that the government was aware of the need to tackle financial vulnerabilities. “The housing minister is actively engaged in much of that work to protect those who will face rent arrears if they have no income, and to ensure everyone understands, be that landlords or local authorities, that we can’t compound this situation and make it worse,” she said.

She added that the government was working with councils to help people who find themselves in financial trouble as a result of being unable to work, or only able to claim statutory sick pay. “We are acutely aware of these scenarios,” she said. “We are working on a number of measures, including looking at increasing the Scottish Welfare Fund, support for renters, looking at ways we can support people who are fuel poor or unable to heat their homes working with energy companies, and responding to food insecurity issues.

“We are not ruling out the need for us to purchase food as well. At it’s most basic level we want to make sure people are safe, warm and fed.”

Opposition MSPs, including Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw and Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard offered the government support and said it was time to stand with the First Minister and put party politics aside. Mr Leonard later revealed that Labour was giving up its debate time tomorrow to allow more time for questions about Covid-19 to be put by MSPs.

He said: “This is a fight for all of us, regardless of party, and we can only do it if we work together, stand as one, and stand together with humility in the face of this great challenge.”

Nicola Sturgeon said she had “never been less interested in party politics” than right now. “We are all on the same side.”

Questioned on why the government was not testing everyone with symptoms – as the World Health Organisation was recommending – Ms Sturgeon said she was listening to the scientific advice, but that such a testing regime would involve a “magnitude of resource” which might be spent better elsewhere, especially as the advice to self-isolate would be the same.