NHS services in Scotland are to be resumed on a “cautious, phased” basis, the Health Secretary has announced.

The small step back towards normality in the health service comes as new figures showed a rise in the number of people dying from conditions such as cancer and dementia.

Between March 16 – when the first death from the virus was recorded in Scotland, and May 10 – there have been 1209 excess deaths from non-coronavirus conditions.

That includes 153 more deaths from cancer than the average, and 430 more from dementia.

Speaking yesterday at the Scottish Government’s daily coronavirus briefing, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said health boards would aim to resume pain clinics, dental treatment and cancer services, including referrals and postponed treatments.

Services whose absence was “clearly having a detrimental impact on people’s lives” would be a priority.

There will also be an expansion of treatments for non-cancer urgent inpatients and outpatients, outpatient therapies such as management of macular degeneration, paediatrics and respiratory services.

Mental health support, blood monitoring and B12 injections will also be among the first to resume.

The Health Secretary said the “re-mobilise, recover, re-design” framework being used by the Government underpinned “how we will safely and gradually resume some of our services”.

She added: “But as we do that we must make sure we keep sufficient capacity to deal with any surge in Covid-19 cases.”

As services are reintroduced, she said there would be “constant checking” on the prevalence of the virus and the R number – the average number of people who are infected by each person who contracts Covid-19.

Freeman said: “We are taking an evidence-based, cautious and phased approach to resuming services to ensure the virus continues to be suppressed. While NHS Scotland will remain on an emergency footing, this framework sets out our approach for the next phases as we continue to respond to this pandemic.

“Our approach is not only driven by clinical priorities but also by what matters to people’s quality of life like pain clinics, dental treatment and preventative work like cancer screening.”

Labour’s Richard Leonard said the proposals were too vague.

He added: “The number of excess deaths for non-Covid-19 illnesses has been heartbreaking and shows that we can’t delay reopening services.”

Meanwhile, a care home boss accused the Scottish Government of months of “mixed messages, mismanagement and missed opportunities”.

Tony Banks, chairman and founder of Balhousie Care Group (BCG), claimed the Government had possessed the “power and knowledge” to stop the virus spread.

In an article for the Herald on Sunday, Banks, whose BCG houses 940 Scottish residents, said the Government’s strategy of protecting the NHS had been “successful”, but hundreds of care home residents had died “before their time”.

He said:“Our Government leaders argue that this was unchartered territory, that they have done their best, that with hindsight they may have done things differently.

“I argue they had the power and knowledge to act much earlier to prevent the spread of this disease among our most vulnerable population. I know I’m not alone in saying that private care home operators feel betrayed.”

Freeman said she would be happy to meet with Banks.