the situation is not safe. from assisting paramedics to bolstering teams at testing sites and vaccination centres, more than 1,800 service personnel have already been deployed across the uk. around 90 are preparing to assist three health boards in scotland, while in england, 200 army medics and soldiers are being deployed across hospitals in london. this winter, there is an extraordinary pressure on our nhs. it is our duty to be a sticking plasterfor the nhs to help get through a time of extraordinary crisis. these are unprecedented times. while there are early signs that cases may be slowing in london, it's too soon to know the full impact of the new omicron variant on hospitals. 7,000 army forces personnel are on standby if more reinforcements are needed. katharine da costa, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our health correspondent, nick triggle, who talked us