From Public Health Scotland Cancer waiting times 1 October to 31 December 2025, published today: There were 4,797 eligible referrals, a decrease of 0.2% from the previous quarter, and an increase of 28.8% from the quarter ending 31 December 2019. 72.6% of patients started treatment within 62 days, compared with 70.7% in the previous quarter. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-waiting-times/cancer-waiting-times-1-october-to-31-december-2025/ The equivalent figure for NHS England was 70.2%. https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/CWT-CRS-National-Time-Series-Oct-2009-Dec-2025-Provisional.xlsx Now BBC Scotland will tell us that 70.2 and 72.6 are essentially the same, not ‘significantly’ different, but remember, that 2.4% difference of 4 797 referrals, is 115 patients in one quarter. So, 460 per … Continue reading NHS Scotland’s faster cancer treatment service could have saved 5 000 lives in the last 10 years

From Public Health Scotland National drug and alcohol treatment waiting times 1 October 2025 to 31 December 2025 today, the above and: Nationally, the Standard was met for referrals to community-based services across all substances: drugs (95.3%), alcohol and drugs (92.6%) and alcohol (90.8%). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times-1-october-2025-to-31-december-2025/ Continue reading NGS Scotland’s target-busting 95% drug and alcohol treatment in three weeks or less

From Public Health Scotland today: At 28 February 2026, there were an estimated 578,804 individuals on at least one new outpatient, inpatient or day case waiting list.  https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-stage-of-treatment/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times-inpatients-day-cases-and-new-outpatients-31-march-2026/ All things being equal with 10 times the population you’d expect NHS England to then have an estimated 5.78million individuals on their waiting list but they had 6.13 million, 350 000, 6%, more waiting. https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Jan26-RTT-SPN-Publication-PDF-537K- From the BMJ in July 2024: Political failure has left the health system in crisis and caused avoidable harm https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11225594/ Continue reading NHS England has per capita 350 000 more waiting for treatment because…

From the US-based Air & Space Forces Magazine yesterday: Air Force Global Strike Command has found increased rates of testicular cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma in the nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile community compared to other service career specialties, service officials said March 27. The findings, the latest to come from a sweeping epidemiological study conducted by the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, were announced during a town hall meeting. They mark a change from nearly a year and a half ago, when officials said preliminary data from the first phase of the study showed no significant difference in cancer rates between … Continue reading Nuclear submarine crews in the Clyde face higher rates of testicular cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma

Thanks to reader rtpscott for alerting us to the above. From the Telegraph two days ago: This is not happening in Scotland. Why might that be? Here’s one good reason. NHS Scotland has 160 375 FTE staff. https://audit.scot/uploads/2025-11/nr_251204_NHS_in_Scotland_2025.pdf All things being equal, per capita, with 10 times the population, you’d expect NHS England to have 1.6 million FTE but they only have 1.38 million FTE, 220 staff fewer! https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/november-2025 Continue reading Wes Streeting risks lives telling GPs in England to ration hospital referrals because they have 220 000 fewer staff than they’d need to match NHS Scotland