Corona Virus. Scotland and Northern Ireland request military support

• In Scotland, the crisis revolves around the ambulance service’s failure to keep up with calls
• The need to turn to the British government for assistance is very politically troublesome for sturgeon
• In Northern Ireland, the problem is hospital occupancy
• In the United Kingdom, health care is a decentralized competence, i.e. the British government is responsible for it only in England, and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland it is the responsibility of local governments alone.
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In Scotland, the crisis revolves around the ambulance service’s failure to keep up with calls. Scottish media reported on Thursday that a 65-year-old man died in Glasgow after waiting 40 hours for an ambulance to arrive in Glasgow – despite the man’s general practitioner telling ambulance dispatchers that the patient’s condition was critical. The day before, there was a controversy from the Scottish government’s health minister, Hamza Yusuf, who said people should “think twice” whether they really needed an ambulance before calling for it.

The head of the Scottish government, Nicola Sturgeon, acknowledged this situation was unacceptable, but made clear that due to the pandemic, the Scottish Ambulance Service “is likely to face the most difficult set of circumstances since its inception”.

It also announced that it would seek assistance from the Ministry of Defense in London. I will return to my office to finalize the details of the request for military assistance so that we can submit it as quickly as possible. She told the Scottish Parliament that such military assistance is already being provided to the emergency services in England, and of course over the past 18 months we have received military aid for other aspects of the pandemic.

Having to seek help from the British government is politically very troublesome for sturgeon because his version is based on the belief that Scotland, as an independent country, would do much better than being part of the United Kingdom.

In Northern Ireland, the problem is hospital occupancy. According to Sky News, it has 106 percent of patients. Nominal number of seats. Northern Ireland’s health minister, Robin Swan, has asked the Ministry of Defense to send 100 military doctors during October to relieve the burden on staff at two hospitals – Belfast City Hospital and Ulster Hospital in Donald.

In the United Kingdom, health is a decentralized competence, that is, the British government is responsible for it only in England, and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it is the responsibility of local governments alone.

(Palm)