Mike McKirdy, president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (RCPSG), said if the NHS is overwhelmed in the new year, Scotland may face a scenario like that already seen in Northern Italy in April last year, as well as in New York and India at earlier stages of the pandemic.

These crisis situations saw reports of doctors being forced to choose which patients to save, due to equipment, bed and staffing shortages. Mass graves were also used in New York and Italy.

It comes after Nicola Sturgeon warned the new variant may achieve “what we have feared all along” in overwhelming the NHS.

Dr David Shackles, joint chair of the Royal College of GPs in Scotland, said the threat from Omicron “cannot be overstated”, and there is “palpable concern” for the health service.

Health boards said they are facing continued pressure over high demand and staffing shortages, as NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde banned all, but essential hospital visits for patients in shared wards over the risk of Omicron.

Mr McKirdy said he was not predicting that a crisis on the scale of that in Northern Italy would happen in Scotland, but that this is what the country is at risk of.

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