FM faces questions over state of Scottish NHS

1. Nicola Sturgeon is being questioned by opposition leaders in the first FMQs of the new year ahead of meeting the prime minister later on Thursday
2. Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said NHS staff were facing a "disgraceful" situation in the country's hospitals, and asked how the FM could continue to back Health Secretary Humza Yousaf
3. It comes as NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde became the latest health board to pause non-urgent operations
4. Ms Sturgeon said staff across the NHS were doing an "extraordinary and magnificent" job
5. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the crisis in the NHS was "ten years in the making" and that health professionals have told him that the health service is "broken"
6. The session was briefly suspended after a protestor shouted from the public gallery

Claims of 24 hour nursing shifts not true, says FM

The first minister says she has been assured by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that reports of 24 hour nursing shifts are not true.

Ms Sturgeon says staff across the NHS are struggling right now doing an "extraordinary and magnificent" job.

She points out NHS boards have been empowered to take the action they see as necessary and she defends Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.

Background: NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde pauses non-urgent operations

Scotland's largest health board has become the latest to confirm it is pausing non-urgent elective operations.

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde said the move was aimed at prioritising urgent treatment and cancer care.

Ayrshire & Arran and Borders have taken similar steps due to pressures in hospitals. NHS Fife has said it is reducing its elective surgery capacity.

It comes days after the first minister said this was the worst winter that the NHS in Scotland had ever faced.

• Read more here
• Scottish hospitals are almost full, says Sturgeon
• Care homes places to free up hospital beds

How can the FM support her health secretary?

Mr Ross says last night NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde confirmed it is pausing non-urgent elective operations.

The Scottish Conservative leader says the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow is the worst performing in the country.

This morning there are reports of nurses at the hospital working 24 hour shifts, he adds.

"It's disgraceful to put NHS staff in that situation," he says.

Mr Ross asks how the first minister can support her health secretary given this crisis.

FMQs begins...

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross gets to his feet and the first FMQs of 2023 is under way.

FMQs not the main event of the day as FM meets PM

Philip Sim

BBC Scotland political correspondent

For once, first minister's questions might not be the big event of the day for Nicola Sturgeon; later on, she’ll be heading off for a meeting with RishiSunak.

There’s plenty for the first minister and the prime minister to discuss, even beyond the expected announcement about green freeports.

This will be their first sit-down since the Supreme Court ruling on Holyrood’s power to legislate for an independence referendum, so the constitution is sure to come up.

Ms Sturgeon is also expected to press Mr Sunak on the ongoing industrial action hitting public services, urging him to do more on NHS pay and to drop his anti-strike legislation.

Meanwhile Mr Sunak may be looking to discuss Holyrood’s gender reform bill, which his government is considering blocking or challenging.

Given these are the big political issues of the moment, it’s likely Ms Sturgeon will get to practice her debating points during FMQs.

Health in particular has dominated the session for months now, and is certain to come up again given the pressure on services.

What can we expect from FMQs today?

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The unprecedented pressures on the NHS are likely to feature in this lunchtime's FMQs.

This is the first time Nicola Sturgeon will face questions from opposition party leaders and backbench MSPs in 2023.

What can we expect?

It's almost certain the continuing pressures on the NHS in Scotland will feature, in the week when the Scottish government announced it is to spend an additional £8m in a bid to free up hospital beds by moving patients to care homes.

Nicola Sturgeon admitted Scotland's hospitals were "almost completely full" and we saw the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in emergency departments hit its highest ever level.

Other issues we expect to be raised include the Scottish government's plan for the energy sector over the next 20 years which includes a presumption against new oil and gas exploration.

Meanwhile the ongoing teachers' strike and the closure of the Amazon distribution centre in Gourock are also likely to feature.

Welcome

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Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of first minister's questions.

This is the first FMQs of the year and we'll bring you updates and analysis from the weekly political jousting throughout.