NHS Lanarkshire is to temporarily postpone all non-urgent elective surgeries and a range of outpatient appointments to focus on Covid-19 inpatients and emergency care, as the health board said it only had 46 free beds left.

From Wednesday, the health board said it plans to redeploy nurses to support urgent and emergency care, with the majority of outpatient appointments being delayed.

Treatments for urgent cancer care will remain in place and all three acute sites will continue to operate an emergency service for theatres and diagnostics.

WATCH: Nicola Sturgeon details exactly why Gordon Brown's Covid report is wrong

Maternity and neonatal clinics will continue as normal, as well as appointments for urgent referrals, including cancer referrals.

It is expected to last for at least four weeks.

The decision was made after the number of patients being treated in Lanarkshire hospitals with coronavirus is expected to double in the coming weeks.

NHS Lanarkshire is currently treating 288 people for Covid-19, 16 of whom are currently in ICU.

Made with Flourish

Judith Park, director of acute services for NHS Lanarkshire, said: “The safety of our patients is always our top priority.

“Winter is always a difficult time for the NHS. However, the current pandemic has had an additional impact on our services.

“The hospitals are full and the numbers of Covid-19 admissions are increasing. As such, there are only 46 beds currently available to new patients.

“We currently have nearly 300 patients being treated for Covid-19 in our hospitals, with additional patients currently waiting on test results. However, we are anticipating this number to double within a week, putting our hospitals under severe pressure.

“To ensure our services operate as safely as possible, we have taken the decision to cancel non-urgent outpatient appointments and planned procedures from today at all our acute sites.

“The decision to cancel any appointment is not one that we take lightly and I apologise for the impact this will have on patients. Most patients will receive a text message confirming the cancellation of their appointment.

“A small number of appointments will still go ahead as scheduled. Appointments will be prioritised based on clinical need and those patients who are deemed clinically urgent will be rebooked. Patients will receive a letter, text message or voice message giving details of their new appointment.”

It is expected that some community and primary care services, including some GP practice services, will also need to be paused to cope with the number of Covid-19 patients. Details will be shared once any changes are confirmed.

Park added: “Our staff are battling to save lives every day and I am immensely proud of them. Every single Lanarkshire resident can help save lives by following Government guidance and staying at home.”

It comes as 54 more people died of coronavirus in Scotland.

READ MORE: Scotland's Covid death toll passes grim milestone as another 54 people die

The latest deaths, recorded in the past 24 hours among patients who tested positive in the previous 28 days, bring the total under that measurement to 5023.

Nicola Sturgeon, speaking at the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing, said the figures were “particularly distressing” today because the daily measurement death toll has now exceeded 5000.

A further 1875 cases were also recorded, with a positivity rate of 12%. The total number of cases now stands at 153,423.

Some 1717 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed Covid-19, an increase of 53 in 24 hours. Of those, 133 were in intensive care, a rise of seven.

The First Minister said those figures highlight the stress the NHS is under, noting that during the initial peak in April hospital admissions were just over 1500.