NHS LANARKSHIRE has asked people to reconsider attending its A&E department unless their condition is “life-threatening”.
The health board has said its emergency departments are at capacity and attendees will “unfortunately” face a long wait.
It has asked people to instead consider calling NHS 24 on 111 or visiting nhsinform.scot for healthcare information.
This comes as 334,000 people in Scotland – one in 16 - are thought to have had Covid-19 in the week to July 7 - the highest estimate for Scotland since the start of April.
The spread of the latest coronavirus subvariants Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 has also led to a rise in hospitalisations across the UK.
READ MORE: Almost a quarter of calls to NHS 24 unanswered in recent months
Alongside this, the Met Office has warned peoples’ lives could be at risk as it indicated it is likely that a new UK record temperature could be set this week.
The UK Health Security Agency has also increased its heat health warning from level three to level four – a “national emergency”.
Our Emergency Departments are at capacity. If your condition is not life-threatening please consider calling NHS 24 on 111 or visit https://t.co/kFJP4YEvom. We want to get you the right care you need, in the right place. pic.twitter.com/cGAGWMDJcH
— NHS Lanarkshire (@NHSLanarkshire) July 16, 2022
Level four is reached “when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system… At this level, illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy, and not just in high-risk groups,” it said.
Last year as the Covid crisis peaked, NHS Lanarkshire was moved to “Code Black” as hospitals hit a critical occupancy level.
At its highest risk level, military forces were called in to provide “additional support” to hospitals in the area.
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