By Professor John Robertson OBA
Worse weather, old folk and young slipping on ice, an older population, a sicker population and more drug deaths, yet visits to GPs and admissions to Scottish hospitals are not surging.
According to Public Health Scotland yesterday:
Attendances to GP practices for influenza-like illness rose sharply this week, although they remain at a level not unusual for this time in the season. Calls to NHS24 for respiratory symptoms increased to similar levels as last year, but still lower than previous years.
Levels of influenza continue to rise sharply this week, although they remain at moderate levels by comparison to previous years. Indicators of COVID-19 transmission are low across primary and secondary healthcare and the wastewater surveillance systems.1
From Public Health Scotland on 5 December:
Influenza related hospital admissions have also increased this week although there is no evidence of an increase rise in admission to critical care. RSV laboratory-confirmed cases appeared to decline in week 48 to moderate activity levels. RSV related admissions to hospital have decreased since week 47. Indicators of COVID-19 transmission continue to decrease across all systems.2
Meanwhile, according to the Guardian, yesterday:
The number of hospital beds in England occupied by patients with flu has increased by 70% in a week, NHS England said, as it warned of a “tidal wave of flu hitting hospitals”.
An average of 1,861 flu patients were in hospitals in England each day last week, including 66 in critical care beds, NHS figures show. This is up from 1,099 patients the previous week, when 39 were in critical care. It is also more than four times the figure at this point last year.3
From NHS Wales on 5 December 2024:
A health board in Wales is asking people to not visit hospitals if they feel unwell. The NHS in Powys has made the public plea following a flu outbreak which is putting patients at risk, the health board said in a statement on Friday evening.
The health board asked those with flu-like symptoms such as a high temperature, sore throat, cough, diarrhoea or stomach pain to stay away from their hospitals. It comes following news four illnesses are circulating in the UK this winter in what has been dubbed the “quad-demic” – made up of flu, respiratory syncytial virus, norovirus and Covid.4
Why is this not happening in Scotland?
More GPs, more nurses, more hospital beds, free prescriptions, and cleaner hospitals after Health Secretary Sturgeon kept hospital cleaning in house back in 2008.5
Sources:
- https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/viral-respiratory-diseases-including-influenza-and-covid-19-in-scotland-surveillance-report/viral-respiratory-diseases-including-influenza-and-covid-19-in-scotland-surveillance-report-12-december-2024/
- https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/viral-respiratory-diseases-including-influenza-and-covid-19-in-scotland-surveillance-report/viral-respiratory-diseases-including-influenza-and-covid-19-in-scotland-surveillance-report-5-december-2024/
- https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/dec/12/nhs-warns-of-tidal-wave-of-flu-as-hospital-cases-rise-70-in-england
- https://uk.news.yahoo.com/flu-outbreak-sparks-public-warning-114309262.html
- https://www.epsu.org/article/uk-hospital-cleaning-brought-house-scotland-wales-n-ireland
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Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Slightly O/T….Here is some more SNP good news that was completely ignored by all “Scottish” media…..https://www.nhsggc.scot/your-health/public-health-nutrition/thrive-under-5/#:~:text=Thrive%20Under%205%20(TU5)%20is,to%20achieve%20a%20healthy%20weight. And this from NHSGGC……..
Promoting healthier lifestyles among young children
Statistics launched this week showed that in the 2023/24 school year, 76.5% of primary one children in Greater Glasgow and Clyde were measured to have a healthy weight. However, 21.9% were at risk of overweight or obesity, and 1.6% were at risk of underweight.
A programme having success in addressing these challenges is NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Thrive Under Five (TU5). TU5 is a whole-system, long-term approach to support children under the age of five in achieving a healthy weight, in addition to tackling food insecurity and providing families with the resources and knowledge to make healthier choices.
TU5 has implemented various initiatives to break barriers to healthy eating and provide access to healthy ingredients, meals, and cooking skills, including:
Beatrix Von Wissman, Consultant in Public Health, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said:
“Thrive Under Five is more than nutritional advice and recipes. We’re taking a holistic approach to help families create healthier lifestyles when their children are at a young age and that includes varied levels of support.
“For example, in its first year, Thrive Under Five established a network of partners, including Money Matters, to respond to community needs. Families that were referred to the programme were linked with Money Matters to assess their financial circumstances and receive ongoing advice on income maximisation.”
In its first year, 630 families engaged with TU5 services or received food support. The food shop voucher scheme benefited 47 families, with nearly 10,000 vouchers issued by Alexandra Rose Charity. Community grants of up to £7,500 were awarded in all three GGC areas. Free physical activity sessions for children were integrated into the programme, delivered by third sector partners across all TU5 neighbourhoods in Glasgow.
The pilot supported local food growing projects and encouraged active travel through its physical activity component.
The TU5 programme has been extended to Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, and East Renfrewshire, with expanded provision in Glasgow city. This programme complements the NHSGGC HENRY child healthy weight programme, which is delivered by Health Visiting teams and offers additional support sessions by Early Years Scotland and Possibilities for Each and Every Kid (PEEK) in North-East Glasgow. HENRY provides universal support to all children under five and targeted support for families with children up to 12 years of age.
Both programmes aim to tackle inequalities by supporting healthier lifestyle choices through a whole-system approach involving children and families, and third sector partners.
JB
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Just about every post lately points out the difference in performance & outcomes between Scotland and England in every public service and would seem to confirm that the policies pursued by the SNP for the last 17 years are indeed working – not perfect but heading in the right direction.
Sadly just about every post lately also uncovers the deliberate downplaying of Scottish government decisions to mask the growing gap between English and Scottish services. This points not just to a lack of investigative journalism but also to a fear that Scotland is being well governed and will show England up
By failing to inform and educate the population of Britain as a whole, people are often unaware of the differences and swallow the establishment line. This helps to perpetuate a downhill spiral – see John’s next post about school exclusions feeding into the county line culture to understand how damaging misinformation can be. No-one can fight back against crime or poor judgement if there is no understanding of the underlying causes
We are doubly fortunate in Scotland. A hyper-critical press keen to highlight any fault or misstep has helped to create a party who know they are under scrutiny and will pay dearly if they put a step wrong. A growing alternative media gives us more information about what is happening and teaches us to question and query what we hear. It’s not always welcome, it often feels unfair but I think the alternative is actually worse. The corruption, the lack of clear vision, the reliance on easy slogans and the complacency of a parliamentary system stuck in the dark ages coupled with a poorly politically educated electorate has given England some very real and serious challenges, I’m actually feeling quite sorry for them!
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Another factor in Scotland which is keeping people out of hospital for respiratory illness is a higher level of uptake of vaccinations. We see that in the data for children’s MMR inoculation and, when old codgers like I go for our seasonal flu, Covid and RSV jags we find the vaccination centres going like fairs because so many of us trust the message from NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government.
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I would imagine in time Englands solution to their problems will be to commandeer Scottish hospital beds.
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Tried putting this up earlier but for some reason it wouldn’t, hopefully this time it has worked.
I haven’t seen this on any of our “Scottish” media outlets…wonder why, must be because it is a SNP Scottish Government good news story.
Thrive under 5…..https://www.nhsggc.scot/your-health/public-health-nutrition/thrive-under-5/
and this from NHSGGC
Promoting healthier lifestyles among young children
Statistics launched this week showed that in the 2023/24 school year, 76.5% of primary one children in Greater Glasgow and Clyde were measured to have a healthy weight. However, 21.9% were at risk of overweight or obesity, and 1.6% were at risk of underweight.
A programme having success in addressing these challenges is NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Thrive Under Five (TU5). TU5 is a whole-system, long-term approach to support children under the age of five in achieving a healthy weight, in addition to tackling food insecurity and providing families with the resources and knowledge to make healthier choices.
TU5 has implemented various initiatives to break barriers to healthy eating and provide access to healthy ingredients, meals, and cooking skills, including:
Beatrix Von Wissman, Consultant in Public Health, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said:
“Thrive Under Five is more than nutritional advice and recipes. We’re taking a holistic approach to help families create healthier lifestyles when their children are at a young age and that includes varied levels of support.
“For example, in its first year, Thrive Under Five established a network of partners, including Money Matters, to respond to community needs. Families that were referred to the programme were linked with Money Matters to assess their financial circumstances and receive ongoing advice on income maximisation.”
In its first year, 630 families engaged with TU5 services or received food support. The food shop voucher scheme benefited 47 families, with nearly 10,000 vouchers issued by Alexandra Rose Charity. Community grants of up to £7,500 were awarded in all three GGC areas. Free physical activity sessions for children were integrated into the programme, delivered by third sector partners across all TU5 neighbourhoods in Glasgow.
The pilot supported local food growing projects and encouraged active travel through its physical activity component.
The TU5 programme has been extended to Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, and East Renfrewshire, with expanded provision in Glasgow city. This programme complements the NHSGGC HENRY child healthy weight programme, which is delivered by Health Visiting teams and offers additional support sessions by Early Years Scotland and Possibilities for Each and Every Kid (PEEK) in North-East Glasgow. HENRY provides universal support to all children under five and targeted support for families with children up to 12 years of age.
Both programmes aim to tackle inequalities by supporting healthier lifestyle choices through a whole-system approach involving children and families, and third sector partners.
JB
LikeLiked by 1 person