SOLDIERS have been drafted in to help test personal protective equipment (PPE) for nurses at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

The support provided by chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) instructors from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, is part of measures to protect frontline workers from coronavirus.

A group of 20 soldiers are helping test the fit and functionality of PPE for doctors, nurses and healthcare assistants at the Paisley hospital, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Inverclyde Royal Hospital, in Greenock.

Defence Minister Baroness Goldie said: "The soldiers are part of the MoD's support to the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland in our battle against coronavirus.

"Today, this sees 3,000 military personnel deployed to support the civil authorities across the UK.

"Our tasks include military personnel providing specialist planning and advisory roles across the Scottish Government, liaising with each of Scotland's 14 health boards, providing additional helicopter airlift capacity for patients in remote and island communities and being part of the multi-agency teams providing drive-through testing centres at Scotland's airports."

Support in testing PPE will run initially until May 17.

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