NHS Scotland prepares for coming winter strain

Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf says the National Health Service, or NHS, will spend more than 8 million pounds ($9.098 million) to recruit 1,000 extra staff in an effort to help it deal with the challenges of the coming winter.

The announcement comes after figures published for the week ending Sept 11 showed that waiting time performance at accident and emergency, or A&E, units in Scottish hospitals had reached an all-time low, with just 63.5 percent of patients being dealt with within four hours.

"NHS Scotland's staffing and funding is already at historically high levels, but as we approach the winter period, it is crucial that we look to maximize, and enhance where we can, the capacity of the NHS," Yousaf told members of the Scottish Parliament.

"Given the scale of the escalating cost of living crisis, combined with the continued uncertainty posed by COVID-19 and a possible resurgence of flu, this winter will be one of the most challenging our NHS has ever faced."

The additional personnel will be 750 new nurses, midwives and health professionals, and an extra 250 support staff. A further 45 million pounds will be spent on recruitment for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

"These measures will support winter resilience across our health and care system," he added. "We will also expand our workforce, particularly registered nurses to assist with the expected increase in workload."

The Scottish Conservative Party's health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane said the new measures would offer little consolation to patients or health service professionals.

"Scotland's NHS is already at breaking point, and if this is all the health secretary can muster, then we are in for a terrifying winter," he said.

The Scottish Labour Party's health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie criticized Yousaf for a lack of decisive action.

"Winter is looming — if action is not taken now we risk a humanitarian crisis in A&E departments," she said. "The SNP (Scottish National Party) must act now to prevent further casualties at the hands of their inept health secretary."

Yousaf, a member of the SNP, which is the largest party in the Scottish Parliament, also said that people should make judgement calls before seeking help from the health services.

"As we enter the winter period, it is crucial that people consider whether their condition is an emergency, such as a stroke, heart attack or major trauma, before going to A&E," he added.

The news comes against a backdrop of possible strike action by staff in Scotland's NHS over pay, with the Unite union balloting members after a 5 percent pay increase was rejected in August.

"It's not very often that you get people in the NHS going out on strike. That is the reality, it's a huge thing for them to do," said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.

"But on the other side of that argument, you've got people with families, you've got people who can't feed their families."