Scotland’s clinical director Professor Jason Leitch says he started NHS winter planning back in March, after last winter saw the highest death toll for more than 30 years.

New figures from the National Records of Scotland show there were 24,427 deaths registered between December 2022 and March 2023 - 11 per cent more than the previous winter, and the highest since winter 1989-1990.

This includes a total of 4,137 additional winter deaths - the seasonal increase in mortality that occurs between December and March.

Scotland's clinical director Professor Jason Leitch. Image: Press Association.

Professor Leitch now says winter planning started earlier than normal this year, and that means the NHS is “as ready as it can be”.

This comes after Health Secretary Michael Matheson made a statement to MSPs detailing what the Scottish Government is doing to help the NHS prepare for winter.

Speaking to BBC Good Morning Scotland, he said: “The preparation has been earlier, which may not seem like a huge bonus, but I’ve been talking about winter since March.

“That might seem odd, but we have planned earlier, we’ve had a big summit with hundreds of people, and each health board has been visited, so we are as ready as we can be.

“The challenges are known and predictable, like infectious diseases, workforce challenges, resource challenges, and winter is always harder than the other three seasons.”

Professor Leitch said two of the biggest things which could help alleviate winter pressures is reducing bed blocking, which is when a patient is medically fit enough to leave hospital but can’t because of a lack of social care, and prevention.

He said health boards could consider setting up “discharge hubs” to help reduce bed blocking, and said preventing hospital admissions is key because “hospital can be the worst place” for elderly and frail people as they lose muscle mass and confidence “really quickly”.

The clinical director said he is worried about both Covid and flu this winter, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in children, as numbers are starting to rise.

He is now urging those who are vulnerable and therefore eligible for Covid and flu vaccines to get them now to help the NHS cope this winter.

Professor Leitch added: “We are more aware of infectious diseases now, and I know in my work people are doing the right thing and staying off if they have symptoms.

“My advice is get yourself vaccinated, and stay off if you’re sick so you don’t spread those bugs.

“Around 10-20 per cent don’t turn up for their appointments and those are gaps we could fill with people who need them.

“I’ve already said vaccination is the single most important thing you can do for your family, but there are also common sense things like checking up on elderly relatives, knocking on the door of your neighbours to make sure everyone is well, particularly when the weather is challenging, and getting prescriptions before the holidays.

“Public health is still the most important thing, like good nutrition and exercise.”

Jason Leitch says NHS staff 'are as ready as we can be' for winter

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