Coronavirus in Scotland: 'Slow journey' back for health services
- Published
The head of NHS Dumfries and Galloway said it would have to balance risks and benefits as services resumed
The head of a Scottish health board has said talks have begun about restarting services and clinics which were scaled back due to coronavirus.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway chief executive Jeff Ace said a plan had been submitted to the Scottish government.
However, he warned that it would be a gradual process and dependent on the continued suppression of the virus.
Since the start of the pandemic, 260 people in the region have tested positive for the virus - 44 have died.
"It is enormously complicated and I would like to emphasise - it is going to be quite a slow journey for us to be able to safely expand services step by step," said Mr Ace.
'Second wave'
He said they would have to make sure they balanced the risk between Covid-19 infection - for staff or patients - with the benefits of restoring services.
"I think at every step of the way we have also got to be mindful that we may need to retract again," he added.
"If we see a second wave of Covid, if we see an increase in infections in the community then we will have to safeguard our critical care and our in-patient facilities and make sure that is again what we focus solely on.
"Every step of our expansion we are going to have to test, we're going to have to check, we are going to have to make sure that it is safe and that it works in the balance of our risks."
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