This winter will be “one of the most challenging” the NHS has ever faced, according to Humza Yousaf.

The health secretary issued the warning as he pledged to ensure that the Scottish Ambulance Service will have the resources and staff it needs.

Figures published earlier this month showed that more than 3,000 people waited for longer than eight hours for an ambulance in Scotland last year.

It comes as thousands of NHS workers in Scotland including paramedics and call handlers are balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay.

The Scottish Government has pointed to the huge challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic on the ambulance service and the wider NHS.

More than 500 paramedics, ambulance drivers, call handlers and clinicians were recruited by the Scottish Ambulance Service over the last year.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Politics Matters