Nicola Sturgeon speaks on NHS pressures face in Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders
Nicola Sturgeon spoke of the pressures faced on the NHS in Dumfries and Galloway and in the Borders.
The First Minister of Scotland said a nationwide pause on elective procedures is "not appropriate or sensible" amid growing pressure on the NHS.
A combination of Covid and flu has been putting an extra strain on the NHS.
Nicola Sturgeon has addressed concerns around the state of the NHS in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders.
Addressing questions from ITV Border, she said: "I said that we wanted to empower local health boards to take local decisions where they thought were appropriate.
"What we do not think is appropriate or sensible at the moment is a nationwide pause on elective procedures although we keep all of that under review."
When asked about the pressure that the NHS in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway is facing Nicola Sturgeon said support has to be given to those working on the front line.
She said: "What you have described there as they face in Dumfries and Galloway and in the Borders is the experience of many health boards right now.
"In Dumfries and Galloway it was quoted that their pressures was ‘more severe than during Covid’.
"In many ways that will be how it is and how it feels for those on the front line of our health service right now.”
Last week, Julie White, chief officer of Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “The pressures are now greater than seen during the peak of the Covid pandemic.
“They are being driven by a combination of factors, including very high rates of flu and other respiratory illness currently circulating within communities – resulting in high numbers of vulnerable people requiring immediate medical care."
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