Health Secretary, Jeane Freeman has stated that NHS Scotland would be proceeding to an emergency footing for a minimum of three months, in its preparation to tackle a significant and sustained increase in COVID-19 cases.
Non-urgent elective surgeries and procedures will be postponed in order to free up capacity in hospitals. NHS Boards are retraining staff and repurposing existing facilities in a bid to expand the country's intensive care capacity.
Some of the key measures to be implemented include:
- Reducing delays in hospital discharges.
- Contingency planning for uninterrupted oxygen supply.
- Ongoing advice and support for patients with cancer and immunosuppression.
- Scaling up surveillance testing to monitor the community spread of COVID-19.
- Monitoring through laboratories for hospital and intensive care admissions and community testing in certain situations like a nursing home outbreak.
- Testing of frontline NHS staff.
Despite these measures, NHS Scotland has ensured that vital cancer treatments, emergency, maternity and urgent care will continue to function, and patient appointments will be rescheduled quickly.
Ms Freeman said: "While these are undoubtedly difficult times, we fully expect our NHS to ensure patients are treated in line with their clinical priority, and the impact of COVID-19 on cancer patients has been a priority in all of our planning."
