NHS Borders say that services remain under severe pressure and members of the public are urged to follow their advice.

The following statement has been issued via social media:

“Despite a great response to our urgent call for staff yesterday, services across NHS Borders are being stretched beyond capacity with high numbers of people attending the Emergency Department at the BGH, beds are full in all of our hospitals and people are waiting a very long time to be seen, treated and admitted.

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“Our staff are under exceptional pressure and this is being compounded by high numbers of staff sickness absence as a result of Flu, Covid-19 and other winter viruses that are circulating in the community.

“Please help protect staff and if you are coming to a health care setting please ensure that you wear a fluid resistant surgical mask for the duration of your visit.

“ If you have symptoms of Flu, Covid or any other winter viruses then you should stay at home, drink plenty of fluids and do not mix with other people to prevent spread.

“This is particularly important over the new year weekend as we take steps to try and prevent an even bigger spike in infections, and to protect elderly and unwell members of our community.

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“If you are feeling under the weather and have a cough, cold, sore throat, fever or stomach bug please wait until you are feeling better (and have been symptom-free for 48 hours) before visiting your loved ones in our hospitals.

“You can help us manage the pressure on the Emergency Department and only come if your condition is life threatening. If you are unsure you can get advice from your Community Pharmacist, GP or by contacting NHS24 on 111.

“Please remember that these services are also busy so you will need to be patient. You can also check your symptoms on NHS Inform either online or by downloading the app, and following the advice on their pages.

“If you do require care from any of our services please be patient, treat our staff with respect and be kind. Everyone is working exceptionally hard to attend to patients as soon as they can, however you will have to wait longer than you would normally expect to; and you will be prioritised according to how sick you are.

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“If you think that your condition is immediately life-threatening you should always call 999.

Many of our beds are occupied by people who are medically fit but are awaiting discharge home or to their next place of care.

“If your family member is fit to be discharged from hospital, please help us to get them home quickly by being ready and available to collect them as early in the day as possible.

“When someone is discharged from hospital in the morning it has a positive impact not only on the patient themselves because they are back at home, but also on the whole system.

“It frees up a bed for the person who is waiting to be admitted in the Emergency Department, who then frees up a space in the Emergency Department for the person travelling to hospital in an ambulance with a life threatening condition, and that ambulance is then free to attend to the next person waiting in the community who needs urgent medical care.

“We are very grateful for your co-operation and support which is really important if we are to continue to provide the level of care our staff want to deliver to the people of the Borders.”