NHS England only publishes annual data on 12 hour waits in A&E. Emergency doctors in England have called for transparency on this. NHS Scotland does them weekly and the Scottish Cons love to feast on them. So, how do the Scottish 12 hour wait data compare with the same from NHS England? Well, thanks to Telegraph we can see: In March 2022, 4 128 patients spent more than 12 hours in a Scottish A&E department. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/ae-activity-and-waiting-times/ae-activity-and-waiting-times-month-ending-31-march-2022/ England has 10 times the population so might be expected to have had 41 280 waiting for 12 hours but actually had 138 305, … Continue reading THREE TIMES as many spend more than 12 hours in English A&E departments

Remind me, which party was in government for those years? Oh, yes, it was the Conservatives with their austerity policies. From the BMJ today: Results Changes in trends were observed for both men and women, especially for those living in the 20% most deprived areas. In those areas, mortality increased between 2010/2012 and 2017/2019 among women but not men. Break points in trends occurred at similar time points. Approximately 335 000 more deaths occurred between 2012 and 2019 than was expected based on previous trends, with the excess greater among men. https://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2022/09/26/jech-2022-219645 Women are statistically significantly less likely to vote for the … Continue reading “335 000 more deaths occurred between 2012 and 2019 than was expected”

By Alasdair Galloway You might remember a couple of things I have done for Talking Up Scotland in the last few weeks and months, forecasting doom and catastrophe The most recent one was “The Dark Night Part 2”, written in August (https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2022/08/11/the-dark-night-part-2/). As my late mother used to say “it’s being so cheerful as keeps you going” (with thanks to Mona Lott from ITMA). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_That_Man_Again This was driven by a forecast by Cornwell Insight that the energy price cap come January would be £4200, and explored the consequences of this. Well of course, the price cap is now limited to … Continue reading From Mona Lott

Today the Labour First minister of Wales attacks a health board. The state of Wales’ flagship hospital is “absolutely unacceptable”, the first minister has said. An unannounced inspection of emergency and assessment units at Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales (UHW) found dirty sinks, low morale, and people sitting on bins. Mark Drakeford said the pressure on the NHS does “not excuse” the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. The board says it has fully accepted the report’s findings. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-63214751 Nowhere does he take any responsibility not does the anyone say he should. Is that normal? You know that kind of ‘normal’ … Continue reading Are only Scottish health secretaries responsible for anything?

From the Scottish Government today: Recruitment to Scotland’s ambulance service has hit a record high, helping to boost the service this winter.   A record 540 paramedics, ambulance drivers, call handlers, and clinicians have been employed in the last year. This is driven by a £45 million funding boost announced as part of last week’s NHS winter resilience plan, which will ensure the NHS is working as efficiently as possible. The increase in staff numbers is already having a tangible impact on response times – with 99% of all serious incidents, such as heart attacks, being dealt with in under … Continue reading 540 paramedics, ambulance drivers, call handlers, and clinicians but it’s never enough

stewartb ‘… despite strong criticisms of their record on the NHS and schools, the highest rate of death from drugs in Europe and ferry orders that are late and over budget ..’ The shallowness of understanding and therefore of analysis available from the BBC’s political editor [Chris Mason] here is in full view. And at root is the BBC’s inability – more likely its determined unwillingness – to present the Scottish Government, its achievements and its failings, in context. And its unwillingness to address the ‘perspective void’ that characterises BBC coverage of Scotland. All this despite its supposed politically neutral, … Continue reading Defying credibility?

From Redfield and Winton based on data collected on 10 October, Labour UK ride high at 41% over the Cons at 15% and 20% who don’t know but, in Scotland, Labour are at only 20% and in a poll not including the SNP but on the day of their conference finale, 42% don’t seem to know. https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/latest-gb-voting-intention-9-october-2022/ So, half the support for Labour in Scotland and twice the level of the biggest group, the don’t knows. After the fifth sub-poll, Labour were averaging 28% against 46% for the SNP and 10% for the Cons. This latest one brings the Labour … Continue reading 6th sub-poll, during SNP conference, with no Labour surge in Scotland

From Public Health Scotland today but not appearing in ‘the news’: The number of examinations paid in August 2022 was 238,838; an increase of 28% compared to July 2022 (186,714). There were 327,948 NHS primary dental claims in August 2022. This represents an increase of 25% from 261,537 in July 2022. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-dental-treatment-statistics/nhs-dental-treatment-statistics-month-ending-31-august-2022/ These are monthly data in a trend, overall, upward from nearly 0 in April 2020, so more reliable than the weekly figures so loved by the likes of Tom Gordon at the Herald. In August BBC Scotland preferred to work the data to get this kind of thing: … Continue reading 28% surge in NHS dental treatment

From cuckooshoe Yesterday, the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason wondered For a party that has been in government in Scotland for 15 years, they continue to defy gravity: despite strong criticisms of their record on the NHS and schools, the highest rate of death from drugs in Europe and ferry orders that are late and over budget, they keep doing miles better in elections than anyone else in Scottish politics.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63209674 Wonder no more Mr Mason…. Since the SNP came into government, every home in Scotland has benefitted from SNP policies. From free tuition, to record health funding and the Baby Box, we … Continue reading Is Nicola defying gravity?

I should open with an apology for my headline but it’s just too bad to drop. In 2018, the Scottish Cons were reported in the Courier: Ministers have been accused of complacency over smoking after funding cuts coincided with a sharp decline in quit attempts. The number of bids to kick the habit have halved since 2012, according to NHS figures, as Scottish Government cash for cessation services fell by 73%. The Scottish Conservatives warned the “great strides” in tackling one of the biggest threats to public health were at risk of being undermined by SNP inaction. https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/scottish-politics/629769/snp-complacency-risks-reversing-great-strides-in-cutting-smoking-the-tories-warn/ Today, in … Continue reading Will Scottish Tories smell the Coffey?