Scotland's papers: 'Ambulance crisis' as Army set to be deployed
Many of Scotland's front pages are dominated by Nicola Sturgeon calling in the military to relieve pressure on the Scottish Ambulance Service. The Daily Express says the move came after "mounting delays and fatalities", though the first minister said health services were dealing with the most challenging combination of circumstances in their history due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Daily Record welcomes the "support at last" after it broke news of a woman who had waited eight hours for an ambulance while lying on the floor after falling and breaking her hip. The paper highlights similar moves in England where around 1,000 military service personnel were drafted in last month to help four NHS trusts struggling to meet 999 calls.
The Metro quotes Ms Sturgeon saying the waits were "unacceptable" as she was "grilled" at Holyrood. Ms Sturgeon told MSPs her government was looking at a range of plans to deal with the significant challenges facing the health services. The paper says the official request for help from the MoD came a few hours later.
The i highlights that quieter hospital wards could be used to take in patients after news emerged that queues of ambulances were waiting outside hospitals due to lack of space in A&E. The MoD said it was working to identify where it could most effectively provide assistance and would help for as "long as it is necessary", the paper reports.
The Mail calls the situation "chaos", repeating a number of the papers' claims that the ambulance service is in "crisis". It also highlights the 600,000 people on waiting lists, as well as NHS job vacancies.
The Herald leads with Ms Sturgeon's apology to the family of Gerard Brown who died after a 40-hour wait for an ambulance. The paper broke the story on Thursday, reporting that the case was being investigated by the Crown Office. The paper says the first minister also said she apologised "unreservedly to anyone who has suffered".
The Edinburgh Evening News pictures a member of the military standing in the rain in front of an ambulance as it highlights cancelled operations at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People.
Ms Sturgeon's warning that "we are facing probably the most challenging winter for the health service and for society in any of our lifetimes" makes the front page of The Scotsman. The paper says that paramedics are already "exhausted", often work extra hours and "routinely" wait several hours outside as they wait to drop off patients.
The Daily Telegraph reports the first minister has asked for more than 100 military personnel to run mobile testing sites that are currently operated by ambulance service workers. According to the paper's Whitehall sources, details of the operation are still "being ironed out".
The Times leads on Prime Minister Boris Johnson being challenged over fears that a new defence pact could lead to Britain being dragged into war with China. Former PM Theresa May asked Mr Johnson about the "implications" of the UK's nuclear submarine agreement with the US and Australia in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
The Scottish Affairs Committee has concluded that the country's renewable energy sector is being "held back" by UK grid connection charges, according to The National. The paper says the committee is calling for an urgent review of the costs as the industry is also at a disadvantage compared to the sectors in England and Wales, which pay no or lower fees.
Green MSP Maggie Chapman makes the front page of The Press and Journal after she said it would not be "viable" to fully dual the A96. The SNP and Greens agreed to "maintain distinct positions" on the dualling of the route but said a review would be carried out to assess the climate impact, the paper reports.
The Courier highlights the case of a woman who "passed out" from sepsis and lay on her kitchen floor for three days.
The Glasgow Times leads with "outraged" residents in Maryhill who have criticised a recently-erected 5G mast which they say is "towering" over their homes.
The Evening Express leads with the installation of four community-funded defibrillators in Aberdeen after a six-year-old girl died at an after-school club last month.
A bar owner in Dundee claims she unfairly lost out on grants after she admitted serving alcohol to maintenance workers during the first Covid lockdown.
The Scottish Sun reports Piers Morgan is to join the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp and Fox News Media, which also owns the paper. He will host a new show that will air in the US, UK and Australia - his first major new presenting job since leaving ITV's Good Morning Britain in March.
The Daily Star says presenter Piers Morgan has revealed he wanted to headbutt weather presenter Alex Beresford following a row over Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey. The paper says it "perhaps mis-spoke" when it said Morgan would make a good prime minister.
