Based on 146 Scots adults and field work on 2nd and 3rd December: Con                        25% Lab                         11% LD                           7% Brexit                    0% SNP                        52% Green                    4% Click to access Sky_Times_VI_191203_w.pdf Previous sub-polls by YouGov in November gave SNP support at 41, 42, 43, 43, 43, 42, 41, 47 and 41, an average of 42.5%. So, this latest at 52% looks like an outlier unless it’s repeated before the 12th. The YouGov average for support in October was 46.25%. Could this have been damaged in November by the almost two-week long daily hospital infection media campaign? The two full polls in November … Continue reading YouGov sub-poll puts SNP at 52% and November average at 43.5%

From NHS ISD today: The headcount of GPs in Scotland is 5,049. This is a slight rise of 55 GPs compared to last year. This rise is predominantly in female GPs, who now make up 61% of GPs in Scotland. There has been a decrease in male GPs, who now make up 39% of all GPs. The headcount of GPs remained roughly constant at around 4,900 between 2009 and 2017. 32% of all GPs are aged 50 and over, down from a high of 34% in 2014. Click to access 2019-12-03-GPWorkforce2019-Summary.pdf In England, the headcount of GPs has fallen 1.4% … Continue reading Scottish GP headcount climbs for 3rd quarter in a row, is younger and more numerous than in England.

From NHS ISD today: Nearly eight out of ten patients (79.4%) started their treatment within 18 weeks, which compares with 78.7% for the previous quarter. 1,132 people aged 65+ started treatment for Psychological Therapies in this quarter. 90.1% started their treatment within 18 weeks, which compares to 87.3% in the previous quarter Click to access 2019-12-03-WT-PsychTherapies-Summary.pdf Continue reading Waiting time performance for Psychological Services improves for third quarter in a row and hits target for 65+

From NHS ISD today: Timely discharge from hospital is an important indicator of quality and is a marker for person-centred, effective, integrated and harm free care. In October 2019, there were 46,240 days spent in hospital by people whose discharge was delayed. This is a decrease of 2% compared with the number of delayed days spent in hospital in October 2018 (47,302). Click to access 2019-12-03-DelayedDischarges-Summary.pdf Continue reading Delayed hospital discharges in Scotland fall in October

In October 2019, only 1.7% of operations were cancelled due to a lack of capacity in terms of operating theatres or staff, down from 2% in September. For any system like NHS Scotland to have 0 cancellations due to capacity, would require facilities and staffing beyond that which could be reasonably justified and, often, theatres lying empty and staff idle. Click to access 2019-12-03-Cancellations-Summary.pdf Continue reading Astonishing NHS Scotland performance as cancelled operations due to capacity approach zero

In October 2019, 88% of the 142 587 patients attending Scottish A&E departments were seen within 4 hours. https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Emergency-Care/Publications/2019-12-03/Summary/index.asp In sharp contrast only 74.5% of the 908 168 attending English Type1 A&E departments were seen within 5 hours. https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2019-20/ That’s more than 200 000 in England waiting longer than they should, in one month, while only 2 282 did in Scotland. Attend an English A&E and you would have been nearly TEN TIMES as likely per capita to have to wait more than 4 hours. Continue reading In October NHS Scotland A&E massive 18% faster than NHS England and TEN TIMES less likely to make you wait more than 4 hours!

In Scotland: Winter pressures across NHS Scotland will be tackled through an investment of £10 million. This will help reduce hospital attendances, where possible, by managing care closer to home for those with long-term conditions and minor injuries, with a focus on better use of community pharmacies and more support to direct people to the best service for their needs. The funding, which has been allocated to health boards, is in addition to the £6.3 million previously allocated for unscheduled care. It matches last winter’s investment and will help ensure there are appropriate levels of staffing in place across the … Continue reading The buffoon who would take control of NHS Scotland allows no winter funding for NHS England and tempts the perfect storm

The Guardian article today does not, of course, present any Scottish breakdown but the Shelter research study from 2018 does: Click to access The_housing_crisis_generation_-_Homeless_children_in_Britain.pdf That more than 9 000 children were in B&B or hostels in England is shocking. The rate in Labour Wales, with half the population is also, pro rata, 5 times higher than in Scotland. The table above, also reveals that the total number of homeless children in Scotland is only slightly over half that, per capita, of England. All things being equal, at 11 times the population the English figure should be around 70 000 but … Continue reading Keeping homeless children in B&B or hostels is 95 times more common in Tory England than in Scotland

I’m not going to tempt fate and say we won’t see anything like the London Bridge attack here. I’m just going to present some information which I first wrote two years ago after the Manchester attack and which I think we should all be aware of. Before, I do that, I know we have lots of racists and Islamophobes in Scotland. I know there was an attack on Glasgow Airport in 2007. That was 12 years ago, it’s worth remembering. I know two young Scots went to join ISIS. It was only 2 though out of 600 Britons. I know … Continue reading Scotland and terror: some cautious thoughts

Perhaps fearing an SNP surge in his Edinburgh Western constituency, Alexander Geoffrey “Alex” Cole-Hamilton asked last Thursday: ‘[F]or what reason A-level entry requirements for students domiciled in Scotland applying for a general engineering degree at the University of Strathclyde are reportedly higher than that for students applying with A-levels from other parts of the UK?’ And ‘[F]or what reason only 25% of Scottish applicants were accepted on to the General Engineering undergraduate degree course in the academic year 2018-19, while 91% of applicants from England, Wales and Northern Ireland were accepted on to the same course?’ Click to access WA20191128.pdf … Continue reading Is Alex Cole-Hamilton’s astonishing anti-British outburst at Holyrood a desperate attempt to save his ass?