‘Case rates lowest in unvaccinated?’ We know that many do not read beyond headlines, so that line matters. The article does go on to explain with the help of Prof Kao at Edinburgh University: So, this does not mean vaccines don’t work but the headline implies that. Irresponsible. Continue reading Herald’s irresponsible headline encourages vaccine deniers

All of the MSM coverage has sided with the academics given the task of making recommendations to the Scottish Government on how to reduce drug deaths. Yet, the same media, fed by opposition parties, have accused the ‘the SNP Government’ regularly of failure to act, of betraying drug-users. The taskforce was set up in July (not September as BBC Scotland say) 2019. Millions have been allocated to fund the task force with, no doubt, Stirling University charging ‘full costs’ for Prof Matheson. I note that Matheson is also a ‘freelance Research Consultant.’ So, only P/T at Stirling? Matheson has 30 … Continue reading Drug deaths crisis: Well-funded but dithering task force lets SNP Government down

By cuckooshoe  The number of new cases in Scotland has fallen again “Today, 7,606 new cases were reported, which is a decrease from yesterdays figure of 10,392. We are currently averaging 10,833 new cases per day, which is a decrease from this time last week, when we were averaging 16,220.” http://www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker/ UK data, announced today, show a large increase in the number of deaths over the last seven days. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/ Deaths within 28 days of positive test Daily – 398Last 7 days – 1,724 There has been an increase of 529 (+44.3%) compared to the previous 7 days England has … Continue reading BBC ignores Conservative Government sacrificing thousands of lives

You may have noticed that the MSM are quiet on any suggestions that the SNP measures are making no difference, now that their errors have been pointed out. That difference of 1% between Scotland and England can seem small if you don’t think about it. If you do think about it, 2 per 100 000 in England means 600 per week, 300 of whom might not have died in Scotland. In Scotland, the 1 per 100 000 means 54 per week instead of 108 had they been subject to conditions in England. Continue reading 54 lives saved every week by SNP pandemic measures

By stewartb The letter writer in ‘Stop sweating the small stuff and keep our eyes on the prize‘, refers to the cost to the UK government of Covid-19 and then links this with how much better off Scotland must be as part of the Union. As well as the important counter to this based on how public finances work, there is also a complementary, strategic health investment perspective. The health think tank, the Nuffield Trust last November contributes to this other perspective in an article headed: ‘Health spending during Covid-19: how does the UK compare?’. It examines how health spending … Continue reading Countries that spent a larger share of their economic wealth on health over time had more stable levels of funding in 2020

By stewartb Reader ArtyHetty writes in response to ‘Stop sweating the small stuff and keep our eyes on the prize’.. ‘last time the ‘YES’ movement were often cornered by questions ..’ Thinking about this reminds me of the revealing book – ‘Don’t Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate’ by George Lakoff. What follows are extracts from blog posts written by Lakoff in 2018, firstly from one entitled ‘A Modest Proposal: #ProtectTheTruth’ (See: georgelakoff.com/blog/ ) The blog is written in the context of US politics and Trumpian/Republican Party campaigning but seems to have wider relevance: Lakoff’s … Continue reading Next time, the Yes campaign needs to know its values and frame the debate

From SNP Media: The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), introduced by the SNP Scottish Government in 2007, has been praised by a leading European expert on patient safety. In Westminster’s Health Committee, Dr Pelle Gustafson, CMO at Swedish Patient Insurer, responded with “Scotland”, when he was asked which country he would hold at the very top pillar with regards to patient safety.  Dr Gustfason said: “If you take all preventative work in regard to patient safety, I would say Scotland, I am personally very impressed with Scotland. I think in Scotland you have a long tradition of working, you have a development … Continue reading Scottish Patient Safety Programme introduced by SNP Government in 2007 praised by leading European expert

By Alasdair Galloway Today, one of the most frequent of the Unionist fan club on the Herald Letters page had another letter published, which I have copied in below. DURING the Covid crisis the SNP government has relied totally on the UK government for funding to tackle its effects. According to the National Audit Office, as of last September , Covid-19 has cost the UK government £370bn. Pro rata Scotland’s share is some £37bn extra funding. Yet Nicola Sturgeon seems to think that the Treasury has a bottomless pit full of cash. “Our public health response is curtailed by lack of finance” … Continue reading ‘Stop sweating the small stuff and keep our eyes on the prize’

Operations may be cancelled by the surgeon or by the patient themselves, for good reasons. There will always be some of these and they tell us nothing about the performance of the NHS. Cancellations due to staff or facility shortages do tell us something and when they are less than 25 and falling it means something good, very good. For this figure to ever be zero, you’d need more operating theatres and surgeons than could be afforded and accept long periods of emptiness and idleness. In November 2021, 624 (3.0%) were cancelled by the hospital based on clinical reasons, 397 … Continue reading Cancelled operations fall for second month to less than 2%

From NHS Scotland today: In November 2021, the average number of beds occupied per day due to delayed discharges was 1,563, which is more consistent with pre-pandemic figures. This is a decrease of 3% compared to October 2021 when the daily average was 1,619. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly-figures-for-november-2021/ Continue reading Number of hospital beds occupied due to delayed discharges falls