Hospitals across the north and north-east could be forced to rely on former staff returning as volunteers amid the worsening of the coronavirus pandemic.
NHS Grampian bosses have said it is one of a number of avenues being considered to keep the health board fully operational amid the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases.
Earlier this week, the health board cut visiting hours to limit the spread of illness, and both it and NHS Highland restricted patients to receiving no more than two visitors at a time.
Many patients have also had procedures cancelled to free up capacity for more urgent cases.
Amanda Croft, the chief executive of NHS Grampian, said lists are being compiled of willing volunteers who may need to be called upon if hospitals and health care centres experience staffing shortages.
She said: “We’ve had a lot of people come forward to say they used to work for the NHS, or aren’t currently doing their normal job, and can they help.
“We’re collating a list of those people and we’ll be getting in touch to see what skills they have and what they can help us with.
“People need to remember that the NHS isn’t just about doctors and nurses as, with porters, domestics and administrators, we’ve got more than 250 types of staff.
“We’d be very grateful of anybody who can come forward and offer any help.”
The proposals to draft in volunteers are still in the early stages of planning, and will be subject to national guidelines and policies.
Prof Croft added: “We will do whatever it takes to allow these people to come and help us where we need it.
“We may have too many people come forward initially, but as times goes on we may need them.
“We do business continuity planning very well so, in some ways, this is not a new situation for us.
“The difference is that we’re doing this over a period of time, where often a major incident would be a shorter span.
“A key thing for us to remember is that this may go on for a long time.
“We need to look after our staff and ourselves and make sure we’re resilient enough to see it through.”
As part of defences against coronavirus, NHS Highland has suspended all non-urgent outpatient reviews and tests, with face-to-face appointments only in “exceptional” circumstances.
All cancelled sessions will be reviewed by clinicians to identify priority patients, before new dates are set.
In addition, urgent cases will be screened via telephone for any Covid-19 symptoms or risks before meeting health staff in person.
A spokeswoman said: “We appreciate these arrangements are a considerable departure from usual practice and will cause disruption for a large number of patients.
“This is not an action that we are taking lightly and hope you understand that these decisions have been made in order to maintain our ability to provide essential patient care and to protect our staff and our communities.”
Meanwhile, an Aberdeen teenager has issued a rallying cry to support NHS staff.
Since teaching was cancelled at Dundee University, Keren Lumsden has vowed to make use of her time off.
Moving back home to Aberdeen, she started to brainstorm a way to repay the NHS staff who have already given so much to the public since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Now she and fellow student Niamh Foster are bringing together healthcare students to help NHS Grampian staff through the current disruption.
They are offering babysitting services, dog walking and more help to support the dedicated health workers keeping the country afloat.
The 19-year-old said: “I saw a similar thing in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area and thought it could be a good thing here.
“This is a stressful time for everyone and NHS Grampian staff are doing so much.
“We want to do whatever we can to help lessen their burden.
“We don’t go back to university until September and want to make use of our time.
“Throughout the university, NHS staff do an amazing job with lectures and helping on wards so now it’s time to give back.
“The situation will get amplified as time goes on so we’re trying to coordinate our plans as soon as possible.”
Ms Lumsden, whose father is Aberdeen City Council co-leader Douglas Lumsden, added: “Within 30 minutes we had a lot of members join the group on Facebook, which was really encouraging.
“We’re putting together the best way to coordinate efforts now
“There are so many amazing things going on in the region as people try to support each other. We hope this can make a difference to the lives of NHS staff.”
To find the group, search Healthcare Students to Support NHS Grampian Staff Through Covid-19.
