Angela Constance: “What I am absolutely clear about is that corridor care isn’t acceptable. It’s not acceptable for patients or their…”

The bigger issue is around reducing avoidable hospital admissions.

That is why I announced this independent review, which will sit alongside the inspections already under way of every acute maternity unit in Scotland, to identify the systemic changes needed to strengthen services and improve outcomes.

The measure of our preparedness is not whether pressures arise, it is how effectively we respond to those pressures.

I want to be clear and transparent that we will be facing a difficult period.