Reposted as ‘Families of domestic abuse victims driven to suicide criticise ‘postcode lottery’ of coroner’s courts’ in England
Reposted as ‘Families of domestic abuse victims driven to suicide criticise ‘postcode lottery’ of coroner’s courts’ in England
Health Secretary for England, Wes Streeting wants to decide what NHS Scotland pays for drugs
In the Guardian today: Dozens of MPs are opposing Wes Streeting’s decision to award himself power to dictate what the NHS pays for drugs amid growing concern the move may be illegal. Thirty-one MPs have signed a House of Commons motion voicing their disapproval of the health secretary being handed the power to override the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (Nice) judgment on how much the NHS should spend on individual medicines. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/26/mps-oppose-wes-streeting-power-to-say-what-nhs-pays-for-drugs-nice Is my headline just another tabloid attention-seeking scare? Only partly. The UK government (Streeting) negotiates overall pharmaceutical pricing schemes (like rebate deals with drug companies) … Continue reading Health Secretary for England, Wes Streeting wants to decide what NHS Scotland pays for drugs
There is no reliable evidence that patients die in A&E units ‘due’ to care shortages in Scotland only this Prof’s anecdotes again
On the front page of the Sunday Post, the above, aimed at its elderly audience to provoke another ‘That SNP!’ reaction, days before an election is from Geriatrician, Professor Andrew Elder (sic) of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. You see those ‘reports’? Indeed, no figures, no sources. These ‘reports‘ are associations, not direct proof of causation. The “excess deaths” method from the Royal College is a modelled estimate, not a count of individually verified deaths caused by delays. Patients waiting long times are often already very ill, which complicates attribution. Sicker patients both wait longer (due to needing … Continue reading There is no reliable evidence that patients die in A&E units ‘due’ to care shortages in Scotland only this Prof’s anecdotes again
On the 40th Anniversary of Chernobyl, how a Labour First Minister’s ‘day one’ plans for nuclear power will ‘present an existential challenge for local policing’ and expose our children to thyroid cancer
On the 40th anniversary of Chernobyl, today, BBC Breakfast visit the site and remind us that while the official death toll was just 31, according to ‘studies’, the wider health impact was likely to be much wider. Studies? Well, here’s just one. According to the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation The most significant wider impact was a sharp rise in thyroid cancer among children and adolescents exposed in 1986 in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. By 2005, more than 6,000 cases had been diagnosed in this age group. Later data (up to ~2015) put the total closer … Continue reading On the 40th Anniversary of Chernobyl, how a Labour First Minister’s ‘day one’ plans for nuclear power will ‘present an existential challenge for local policing’ and expose our children to thyroid cancer
Scots visiting Canada this summer can expect to pay nearly three times comparable CalMac prices
Some time ago, a Mull ferry-user rep urged CalMac to get out in the world and learn from other ferry services. This summer travellers to Arran from Ardrossan (19nm) can expect to pay £10.60 return on foot and, in a car, £53, regardless of the time of day or day of the week. Islanders can plan ahead knowing they will not be hit by sharp hikes if they must travel at peak times. Travellers to Canada this summer, on the similar Tsawwassen–Southern Gulf Islands route (18-25nm depending on stops) will pay the equivalent of £30 and £140. There’s a wee … Continue reading Scots visiting Canada this summer can expect to pay nearly three times comparable CalMac prices
First GP Walk-in clinic – Herald evaluation is too quick, asks wrong questions and their ‘top medic’ is far from that
The Herald today has: Doctors have told the SNP to drop its plans to expand walk-in GP clinics after new figures showed patients waited up to six hours to be seen at the first facility in Scotland. The clinic at Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre in Edinburgh, opened in February and was the first of around 30 walk-in clinics promised by the Scottish Government, currently led by the SNP. and So, another combined effort by Scottish BMA and the Herald to undermine the top party leader, John Swinney and the SNP. Are they stupid? Don’t they know this? Early reporting (including the article you … Continue reading First GP Walk-in clinic – Herald evaluation is too quick, asks wrong questions and their ‘top medic’ is far from that
The new Welsh government, of whatever party or coalition, has a particularly difficult inheritance in health and social care
By stewartb The Nuffield Trust has published a companion to the Scottish briefing , for the NHS in Wales. It concludes (with my emphasis): ‘The new Welsh government, of whatever party or coalition, has a particularly difficult inheritance in health and social care. Waiting times are poor and the public deeply unhappy. ‘Wales’s older, more deprived population means that needs for care are elevated, and sustained high levels of health funding reflect that. ‘The incoming ministers will know that there is not enough money in the coffers to simply spend their way to success. Improvements in delayed discharges and waiting lists provide a … Continue reading The new Welsh government, of whatever party or coalition, has a particularly difficult inheritance in health and social care
BBC report a sepsis survivor in Scotland but fail to tell you how the SNP Government made it so likely
From BBC Scotland today, the above and: Less than two years ago Katie Bain almost died when she went in septic shock after her appendix ruptured. The swimmer, who was just 24 at the time, spent three weeks in an induced coma as doctors fought to save her life. There is, of course, no fuller explanation of the situation with regard to sepsis, in Scotland, just the one wee story. Here it is: Not anywhere in the quite long report, important context which even student journalists are taught to include. How under Scottish Labour, hospitals were ‘death traps’ of hospital … Continue reading BBC report a sepsis survivor in Scotland but fail to tell you how the SNP Government made it so likely
More than 50 times (5 per head) wait more than 24 hours in England’s A&E – short video
Sources: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/04/23/nhs-scotlands-ae-waits-of-over-24-hours-still-fewer-than-a-fifth-of-those-in-nhs-england-contrary-to-anas-sarwars-claims-in-2024/ https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/04/23/englands-ae-crisis-as-patients-say-theyd-rather-die-at-home-but-bbc-uk-dont-mention-it/ Continue reading More than 50 times (5 per head) wait more than 24 hours in England’s A&E – short video
Talking-up Scotland 