EMERGENCY services in Scotland are under mounting pressure as they try to cope with more than 1000 staff reporting sick because of the effects of Covid-19 and the Omicron variant.

Some 9% of staff in the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) went sick on Wednesday, a total of 597 people across the entire workforce.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) had 696 Covid-19 related staff absences among support and operations staff due to illness and the impact of self-isolation.

Police Scotland did not reveal its absence figures due to the pandemic but said they were having to use staff from different divisions to cover for those who had reported sick.

The National:

The National sought out the emergency services’ absentee figures after the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) revealed that a fire and rescue station in Gosport had no firefighters as omicron hit the Hampshire and Isle of Wight area.

Things have not reached that point in Scotland, and SFRS deputy chief officer, Ross Haggart, told The National: “The safety of our staff and the communities we serve is our highest priority. Like many other public services, we are inevitably seeing a rise in Covid-related cases, however, we have established protocols and robust contingency plans in place to support our staff, help minimise the risks and ensure we can continue to respond to emergencies.”

READ MORE: Omicron in Scotland: Where are the confirmed cases?

Ian Sim, Scottish regional secretary of the FBU, admitted that Omicron was taking its toll on firefighters.

He said: “Like all our emergency service partners here in Scotland, omicron is directly affecting the ability of firefighters to attend their place of work, be it through close contact isolation or testing positive.

“Throughout the pandemic and especially during this time of increased pressure, FBU members have worked tirelessly in control rooms, fire stations, offices and at home to ensure that an emergency service is maintained 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“We have been working flat out on the frontline delivering positive outcomes for the people of Scotland despite the unprecedented challenges faced.”

The SAS absentee figure of 597 represented 9.21% of its total staff, but a spokesperson told us the service had contingency plans in place.

“Across SAS, 597 staff are reported absent today due to Covid-related reasons,” they said. “We have however been able to cover over 95% of accident and emergency shifts due to additional resourcing.

“NHS services have been experiencing significant pressure across Scotland as a result of the ongoing omicron variant, and we have planned for additional resources to fill every shift where possible through rostered and relief staff, through overtime or the use of our bank staff.

“To ensure we maintain patient safety, we are already working alongside our partner agencies to protect service delivery and staff welfare. Accelerated recruitment through our Demand and Capacity Programme continues and will increase the number of new staff to 566 by March 2022.”

READ MORE: Covid Scotland: A school-based vaccine system is imperative

The story was similar at Police Scotland, where Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: "The new Omicron Covid variant is having a significant effect on the country and Police Scotland is included in that.

“The welfare of our officers and staff is paramount and has been throughout the pandemic.

“We are working hard to maximise the availability of officers and staff in front line policing duties to ensure that we continue to provide a highly effective policing service to our local communities.

“As a national police service we are able to flex resources from across different divisions to achieve this.”