9 January 2018

The First Minister visited the Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS 24 control centre in Glasgow to thank staff for their dedication over the Christmas and New Year period.

She met call handlers and other workers who have helped to manage the exceptional increase in demand for NHS services in recent weeks.

@NicolaSturgeon visited our Control centre in Glasgow today
to thank staff for their hard work, dedication and professionalism during the festive period. pic.twitter.com/vD22gPTXkR

— Scottish Ambulance (@Scotambservice) January 8, 2018

The number of people in Scotland suffering from flu has doubled compared to the same period last year.

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon thanks all NHS staff for their dedication and commitment over the winter period. pic.twitter.com/a8Z1LLPTnq

— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) January 8, 2018

The First Minister said:

“Winter is always a busy time for our NHS, but this year has been exceptional. Everyone in the health service has worked extremely hard to deal with the additional pressures they’ve faced over the last few weeks.

“Thousands of staff across Scotland have missed out on precious time with friends and family to make sure patients have received the care and treatment they need over winter.

“I am very proud of all the NHS staff achievements in delivering this care during this period of sustained pressure, and we are determined to support them through this.

“The call handlers and NHS 24 staff I met today, and the Out of Hours teams they work with in each health board, do a tremendous job to keep the system moving and to alleviate some of the pressures on front line services.

“Our NHS and community health service do a fantastic job all year round, and I’d like to thank them once again for the dedication they have shown during this exceptionally busy winter period.”