Scottish Labour has expressed alarm as Covid-related staff absences sky-rocketed, more than doubling in the last 7 weeks.

Overall staff absences increased by 109%, with medical and dental staff absences more than tripling with an astounding 266% increase.

This comes as recorded Covid cases in Scotland reaches a record high.

Scottish Labour’s Health and Covid Recovery spokesperson Jackie Baillie said:

“This alarming increase in staff absences is a reminder that we can’t let Covid spiral out of control.

“Having thousands of staff off every week is bound to take its toll on services.

“If cases continue to climb the pressure on the NHS will only grow.

“We need to get the virus back under control, but test and protect is at breaking point and the vaccine roll-out is slowing.

“We need to fix these problems urgently, and ensure that the NHS has the staffing capacity it needs to cope with any absences.”