Thousands of military troops placed on standby this winter to help the NHS

The Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said there are 4,000 military personnel  on standby this winter to help the NHS cope preventing a crisis.

This year there are fears that flu and Covid could overwhelm the NHS and Wallace said soldiers are ready to drive ambulances, administer vaccines and provide hospitals with general support, plus assist the UK with the current HGV issues.

This is another sign that the government are is putting the UK on a “war footing,” to prevent a winter crisis.

Wallace told the Daily Mail, “We’ve got plenty (of armed forces personnel available) and in winter we put on standby thousands of military personnel, mainly because of our experience of floods and things.

“We have already put on standby something like 4,000-plus people, for the whole of the United Kingdom.”