The UK is putting 4,000 troops on standby to help the NHS deal with a winter health crisis, the defence secretary has said.
Amid fears that the dual threats of Covid and flu may overwhelm doctors in the coming months, the army could again be called in to help out.
Ben Wallace said soldiers are ready to carry out tasks such as administering vaccines, testing for Covid, driving ambulances and providing general support in hospitals.
They will also be ready to assist with other crises the country faces including shortages caused by the lack of HGV drivers and potential flooding.
Troops have been deployed in the past to help with the Covid effort, including building the Nightingale Hospitals to provide extra beds at the height of the crisis.
Their involvement this winter is being seen as the latest sign that the Government is putting the country on a ‘war footing’.
It is feared Covid cases could soar again as people’s immunity from vaccines wane and flu could also prove to be more dangerous, given most people’s natural defences have been weakened by months in lockdown.
Some hospitals are already stretched and the NHS is dealing with a huge backlog after thousands of routine surgeries were cancelled last year.
Last week the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust was the latest to declare a critical incident, with long waits to access A&E.
Speaking on a visit to Scotland Mr Wallace told the Daily Mail: ‘We’ve got plenty (of armed forces personnel available) and in winter we put on standby thousands of military personnel, mainly because of our experience of floods and things.
‘We have already put on standby something like 4,000-plus people, for the whole of the United Kingdom.’
He assured people the troops would be available to help out in Scotland despite the country being under the devolved leadership of the SNP.
Ministers have so far resisted calls to move to Plan B despite Covid cases hitting their highest levels since July, with deaths and hospital admissions also soaring.
This would involve measures like compulsory face masks and work from home orders returning.
Yesterday it emerged that councils had been sent an urgent memo, which was seen as paving the way for more restrictions.
But the Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: ‘At the moment the data does not suggest we should immediately be moving to Plan B.’
MORE : Covid cases ‘to plummet by 85% before Christmas’ even without Plan B clampdown
MORE : Austria threatens to lockdown the unvaccinated as Covid cases soar
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