Summary

  • Health Secretary Michael Matheson details measures the Scottish government will take to support the health care system over the coming months

  • He says this winter will be "extremely challenging" and that planning this year began much earlier than usual, in spring

  • £50m is announced for the ambulance service and an additional £12m to expand Hospital at Home services

  • Last winter saw the highest number of deaths in more than 30 years, according to new figures from National Records of Scotland

  • "Seasonal illnesses" like flu, Covid-19 and norovirus mean more people will require care in the winter months

  • It also means more NHS and social care staff will be off sick

Live Reporting

Edited by Mary McCool

  1. 'We're still seeing very busy front doors'

    NursesPA Media

    The health secretary will get to his feet at 14:50 and deliver his health and social care winter plan.

    Earlier Dr Caroline Whitworth, NHS Lothian’s acute medical director, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that improvements to social care hold the key to improving the flow of patient treatment.

    "I guess what we need to ensure a good flow of patients through our services particularly social care," she sais.

    "Enable patients to get out of hospital quicker, access packages of care in nursing homes and residential homes, because I think that's one of the biggest issues we are facing at the moment."

    She said a busy summer has those on the front line worried. "We're still seeing very busy front doors, our emergency departments are... patients spend too long in there," she said.

    "There are queues to get into beds and that's partly because of the difficulty in getting patients out of hospital who need more support."

  2. Record number of deaths last winter

    Last winter saw the highest number of deaths during the season in over 30 years, according to National Records of Scotland.

    Almost 24,500 deaths were registered between December 2022 and March 2023, the highest since 1990.

    The cause of death with the largest seasonal increase was dementia and Alzheimer’s disease accounting for 640 additional deaths.

    There were 310 additional deaths as a result of COVID-19 during this time.

    NRS said the trend may be partly driven by Scotland’s ageing population.

  3. Welcome

    The impact of the Covid pandemic on the running of the NHS will last for yearsGetty Images

    The impact of the Covid pandemic on the running of the NHS will last for years

    Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the health and social care winter resilience statement in the Scottish Parliament.

    If you want to watch Health Secretary Michael Matheson's statement just click on the play icon at the top of this page.

    We'll bring you reports and analysis throughout the afternoon.

    The statement follows one on Gaza and Israel at 14:50.