Non-urgent care should be paused to allow the NHS to focus on the coronavirus pandemic, a Glasgow health boss has claimed. 

The President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Dr Jackie Taylor said the focus of key workers should be on urgent work and the vaccination rollout. 

The health expert added that there is a "great concern" we can expect a further surge in coronavirus cases.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said: “Everybody has been working over the last nine months to try and ensure that we catch up with the backlog, and we will continue to do that.

“But the harsh reality is that some places that are under pressure, some of that non-urgent work will have to be paused, we have to focus on urgent work and we have to be able to roll out the vaccination programme.”

READ MORE: A year of Covid: This is how your area's statistics have changed in the last nine months

It comes as hopes grow for the approval of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming days. 

She added: “There are hidden harms from Covid both in terms of operations and all sorts of other social and mental health and economic harms which we are all very, very aware of.

“As healthcare professionals, we want to be able to treat everyone, we want to ensure everyone gets the best of care, but unless we get a grip of Covid and really get on top of this then we won’t be able to open up the other services again.”

“We have to focus on getting on top of the acute problems we have at the moment.”