Official documents state that additional staff are being sought by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for accident and emergency units ahead of two marches on November 5 and 6.

Extra staff are also being drafted into mental health assessment units and the police custody service.

The health board said information from other COP events and from the recent G7 summit found there was limited demand for hospital admission and "as such no specific provision has been made for additional inpatient capacity".

It comes amid warnings that the event itself could trigger a fresh spike in Covid cases, piling pressure on an already overstretched NHS.

The documents also reveal that NHS staff training has been provided across key areas associated with a potential emergency response including "chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence". 

The SEC will have its own medical treatment centre, staffed by doctors and advanced paramedics to deal with minor ailments and injuries and direct delegates to pharmacy services.

Daily attendance at the summit has been capped at 14,000 delegates a day due to social distancing requirements, the equivalent to the capacity of the Hydro.

The papers state: "By way of contrast the three main football stadiums have daily capacity of over 50,000.

"Many delegates are not staying in hotels in Glasgow but will be travelling daily into the city.

"It is likely that the biggest demand for healthcare will be from activists who will be attending the event and the 2 activist marches on 5th and 6th of November.

"The march on 6th November has been licensed for up 100,000 people. Additional staffing is being sought for the emergency departments."

All GPs and relevant hospital managers have been sent the postcode data of areas where patients might need emergency access to hospital such as pregnant women.

The Herald told how hundreds of patients in Glasgow are having face-to-face hospital appointments cancelled or rescheduled in a bid to reduce road traffic during COP26.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it would be increasing the number of virtual consultations and moving some face-to-face consultations to different times of the day in order to accommodate a "temporary increase in population" in the city over the two-week climate summit.

Patients began receiving letters over the past week notifying them of changes to their appointments.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said all urgent appointments and those for cancer patients will go ahead as planned.

A spokesman for NHS GGC said: "Ahead of COP26 we are working closely with partners to ensure robust plans are in place to enable us to respond to demands for healthcare during the conference, which includes responding to the temporary increase in population.

"All of our hospital facilities will remain open and operational throughout the conference.

"Any additional staff resource required for our departments will be drawn from existing resources or our Staff Bank.

"Anyone attending any of our hospitals should plan ahead to avoid disruption."