Military personnel have been drafted in to support NHS Grampian deal with the ongoing pressures of the pandemic.
In December, the Scottish Government confirmed NHS Grampian’s appeal for military support had been approved.
For at least four weeks starting today, 38 personnel will be deployed across the health board as it tackles the Omicron variant.
At around 11am this morning, 23 arrived at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to begin training, with the remaining 15 expected to arrive next week.
Health boards across the country have been struggling to deal with the backlog caused by the previous wave of Covid on top of the onslaught of new cases.
Armed forces minister James Heappey confirmed there are currently 80 medics working in the Scottish NHS and 100 more working within the ambulance service.
‘Range of skills and experience’
June Barnard, chief nurse at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, said the hospital is “delighted” to be welcoming the military aid.
She said: “Our teams have been working incredibly hard over the last few months coping with winter and all the pressures of the pandemic.”
They will be used as healthcare support workers, working in both the emergency and critical care units at the hospital.
“They bring with them a range of skills and experience, all of which will be used to support the way in which we deliver patient care, and most importantly maintain safety,” Ms Barnard said.
“They are very much welcomed and we’re looking forward to working with them over the next coming weeks.”
Private Samuel Curtis said he is “really looking forward to working alongside the NHS”.
Military aid across the UK
Troops are also expected to be supporting teams in NHS Ayrshire & Arran and NHS Lanarkshire.
Talking to BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Mr Heappey said: “We’ve got people deployed in Scotland at the moment, there are 80 medics working within the Scottish NHS.
“We’ve got 300 people working within the Welsh ambulance service and another 100 working within the Scottish ambulance service. Soon we’ll have 32 people working within the south central ambulance service in England as well.
“We’ve put these people into the NHS, they’re used as they’re needed, that’s what defense is here to do.”
In London, around 200 armed forces personnel are being made available to hospitals as Boris Johnson said this week that ministers hoped to “ride out” the latest wave of the virus.