Covid in Scotland: Two NHS Grampian hospitals at capacity as cases rise

Two more hospitals have been placed on "code black" status, having reached full capacity due to a rise in Covid cases.

NHS Grampian said Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin, Moray, had postponed all non-urgent procedures.

The health board blamed mounting pressures including staff absences due to self-isolation requirements.

Raigmore Hospital in Inverness earlier confirmed it was at code black.

Meanwhile, NHS Lanarkshire is considering scaling back non-urgent procedures because of "workforce pressures" and rising Covid admissions.

NHS Grampian medical director Professor Nick Fluck said choosing to cancel procedures or appointments was "never a decision we take lightly".

He added: "We will work to reschedule these, but we cannot offer any guarantees at present about when this might happen.

"If you are accessing any healthcare services, please be aware delays are likely."

Prior to the NHS Grampian announcement, BMA Scotland warned action was needed within days to tackle "a very high level of pressure" on the NHS in Scotland due to the surge in coronavirus cases.

The doctors' trade union said hospitals may have to consider cancelling elective treatment unless measures are taken to ease pressure on staff.

Dr Lewis Morrison, BMA Scotland chairman, told BBC Scotland's Lunchtime Live radio programme that decisions needed to be made quickly regarding staff absences due to the requirement to self-isolate.

He said: "Raigmore is an example of what might well happen in other places in the NHS in Scotland if we don't take some action to deal with what is a very high level of pressure on healthcare, both in general practice and in hospitals, combined with rising Covid cases leading to a quite large number of staff having to self-isolate as contacts."

Dr Morrison said any change in self-isolation policies for double-vaccinated healthcare staff would have to be safe for patients and staff themselves.

He said meetings were going ahead within the Scottish government "with some urgency" on the issue.

Dr Morrison added: "Within the next few days, I think some sort of decision needs to be made to assure the continuity of healthcare services in areas under these kind of pressures.

"It's as urgent as that, I think."

NHS Highland had said its area was seeing more than 100 cases on a daily basis. In June, it had more than 1,300 cases which is about a fifth of the health board's total number of cases since the start of the pandemic.

It said there were outbreaks in care homes, and on social media it has appealed to the public to follow advice on how prevent the spread of the virus with the message: "Highland Needs You".