Covid in Scotland: NHS Grampian asks for military support

NHS Grampian has asked for military support as it tries to cope with staff shortages amid the Covid pandemic.

It is the latest health board in Scotland to ask for army assistance.

The request comes after news that the military will be drafted into Lanarkshire and the Borders to relieve pressure ahead of winter.

The health board confirmed a request for military support had been made and that it was waiting to hear back about the armed forces.

NHS Grampian will also interview more than 160 student nurses with a view to offering some of them places on its nursing bank, in a bid to alleviate staffing pressures.

Jillian Evans, head of health intelligence at NHS Grampian, earlier told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland she was "really worried" about how the NHS would cope over the winter period.

NHS Grampian's aim to interview the student nurses in the coming days for potential recruitment is in a bid to cope with the staff pressures being caused by a combination of Covid and leave.

The health board said in an online update to staff that it wants to get more student nurses onto its bank, to improve cover in acute and community sites.

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils have been providing vehicles to help transport patients home, to free up more beds.