MILITARY personnel will be offering their support to NHS Borders from next week.

Twenty army personnel will be on hand working with the acute services team at Borders General Hospital (BGH) from Tuesday (October 19) until November 10.

The support will allow the hospital to gradually reopen its routine elective surgery services and help reduce staff pressure and long waiting times for the Emergency Department.

Director of Acute Services at the BGH, Gareth Clinkscale, said: “We are delighted to welcome military colleagues in to support our hospital.

"These are challenging times for the health service and this extra provision of staff will make a real difference for both our patients and staff.

"Army personnel will help bridge the gap while we recruit more staff ahead of the winter months.

“Thanks to this additional support we will be increasing the number of operations that we can deliver.

"I would like to reassure the public that all of our patients are continuing to be clinically prioritised so that those in the most need are cared for first.”

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