Nicola Sturgeon to face questions on NHS crisis as patients face record waiting times

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Nicola Sturgeon will today face questions on the winter pressures facing the NHS in Scotland.The First Minister will be joined by Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and Dr Gregor Smith for a live media briefing in Edinburgh.The SNP leader is expected to make a short opening statement at 11am before taking questions from journalists.It comes as the health service struggles to meet demand due to a backlog in treatments caused by the coronavirus pandemic.Government ministers are also dealing with an on-going dispute over pay with nurses and other health care workers.Sturgeon chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government resilience committee (SGoRR) on Friday to discuss the response to ongoing winter pressures on the health and social care system.In a statement released after Friday's meeting, Sturgeon said: "It is clear that health and social care is currently experiencing a period of intense and indeed unprecedented pressure. "Staff are working exceptionally hard and have been doing so throughout the Christmas and New Year period.

This comes after nearly three years of pandemic-related demands on the system, and we are all incredibly grateful to them for their efforts.“I am clear that the Scottish Government must and will do everything it can to support our health and care service throughout the next few weeks. "We remain in daily contact with Health Boards and there is already a huge amount of work being done, but we will leave no stone unturned to explore and implement any additional measures that could be taken to help alleviate pressures. "With that in mind we will continue to work with all partners to implement actions that can help ensure the workforce is supported to deliver the high standards of care that we want