Nicola Sturgeon brings back a Covid-style press conference TODAY

Nicola Sturgeon is set to host a Covid-style press conference today as she faces backlash for focusing on her bid to divide Britain instead of the NHS crisis.

The SNP leader will take questions alongside Scotland’s national clinical director Jason Leitch and embattled health spokesman Humza Yousaf.

Mr Yousaf yesterday admitted the health service north of the border is in turmoil, with warnings record wait times and late discharge numbers are costing patients their lives.

A poll has revealed Scots want the SNP to focus on the NHS chaos and the cost of living rather than seek an independence referendum.

Meanwhile, Ms Sturgeon faces a major row over her plans to relax gender identity rules in Scotland, lower age limits and eliminate the need for a medical diagnosis.

Nicola Sturgeon (pictured her New Year’s message) is set to host a Covid-style press conference today as she faces backlash for focusing on her bid to divide Britain instead of the NHS crisis

Ms Sturgeon will try to get back on track with the press conference this morning after being criticized for remaining silent about the pressure on the services. Rising Covid cases and the winter flu have compounded problems across the UK.

The lineup is similar to daily briefings from the peak of the pandemic.

A Survation poll for the group Scotland in Union found that 62 per cent thought the Scottish Government should make the cost of living crisis a priority.

In comparison, only 8 percent opted for an independence referendum.

Some 26 per cent believed the SNP should continue to spend public money planning another national vote to leave the union after the UK Supreme Court ruled it could not proceed without permission from Westminster.

Mr Yousaf’s BBC comments on the NHS came after Dr. Lailah Peel, the vice-president of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland, had told the Mail the waiting times crisis was causing more than 50 needless deaths a week.

Figures show that 1,925 patients spent 12 hours or more in accident and emergency services in the week leading up to Christmas.

Just 56.9 percent were seen within the SNP’s four-hour target time, slightly above the previous week’s record low of 55.1 percent.

Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Dr. Peel yesterday that lives would be “absolutely” lost.

She described the situation as “absolutely brutal,” adding that every frontline health worker knows of patients who have “suffered” from the turmoil.

But a defiant Mr Yousaf yesterday denied that the government was ill-prepared for the winter.

Asked if he had “planned enough”, Mr Yousaf told the BBC: “Yes. We planned for this winter as soon as last winter was over and we met directly with our local health officials, our social care colleagues and everyone else.

“There are things we just couldn’t foresee — for example, the high inflation caused by the frivolous mini-budget and the impact that had on social costs.”

The SNP leader will take questions alongside Scotland’s national clinical director Jason Leitch and embattled health spokesman Humza Yousaf (pictured).

Mr Yousaf downplayed a call by Scottish Labor to call in the army to help with the crisis. He also cited the impact of high numbers of flu and viral infections, saying: “This is an unprecedented crisis. I don’t use that word lightly, but it’s something all governments face.’

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr. Sandesh Gulhane, said: “Humza Yousaf still denies that he totally failed to support the Scottish NHS ahead of the worst winter in living memory that overwhelmed staff and suffering patients continue to endure.

“Under Humza Yousaf, emergency department wait times have spiraled out of control, patients are waiting longer for vital treatments and fit and healthy patients are unable to leave the hospital because the SNP failed to eliminate the late discharge, which it has been suffering for eight years have promised before.

“Humza Yousaf’s dismal forward planning has shown how overwhelmed he is as health minister. He should be fired immediately by Nicola Sturgeon.’