Armed forces personnel are beginning to be stationed at hospitals across Greater Manchester as non-urgent surgeries and appointments restart.
Hospital trusts across the region have been posting on social media showing members of the Army and the Navy training and working in wards.
Around 120 Army and Navy personnel are being deployed into hospitals to help manage the ongoing impacts brought by the Omicron wave of coronavirus.
This also coincides non-urgent surgeries and appointments restarting after pausing for a fortnight due to high levels of staff absences.
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Armed forces staff are intended to stabilise continuing staffing pressures and help in preparing sites for the restoration of elective hospital activity.
The Northern Care Alliance shared pictures of armed forces personnel being trained in hand washing, PPE and patient feeding, before starting at trusts such as Salford Royal and Oldham with Stockport NHS foundation trust's chief nurse, Nicola Firth, welcoming the arrival of Scots Guards personnel to the trust.
Yesterday (January 21) around 30 military personnel begun working at the Royal Bolton Hospital.
They are said to be helping A&E as well as other services in what is being described as 'another challenging period'.
A Tweet said: "Support has arrived today from The Royal Navy, HMS Duncan & the 1st Battalion Scots Guard from the Army.
"Around 30 personnel will be providing extra support for our staff and patients during another challenging period.
"They’ll be supporting A&E, Flow & Pharmacy services."
Mike Larsen, a HR business manager at the trust, welcomed their support.
He said: "Great to see the Royal Navy in and around Bolton NHS FT today, providing much needed support to our workforce to ensure patients continue to receive excellent care even in challenging times!"
At the beginning of the month around 15 percent of the region’s workforce were off, either ill with Covid or isolating, Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership said at the time.
This resulted in hospitals in Greater Manchester calling in military assistance with the demand on trusts surpassing last year’s peak.
Pressure was particularly high on beds outside of intensive care, unlike in previous waves, with general beds more than 90 per cent full, leading to the cancellation of non-urgent surgeries.
A statement from Sarah Price, interim chief officer of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, on Thursday (January 20), said: "Although services remain busy, the situation has improved to the point where non-urgent surgery can now resume.
"We appreciate how disappointing this will have been for those patients who have had their appointments or procedures postponed over the past few weeks, especially those who have already waited for some time.
"Hospital teams, including the NCA and our Care Organisations, are working to reschedule patients as soon as we can based on clinical need.
"Patients are being asked to bear with us and wait to hear directly from the hospital as we work through the waiting lists."
