Professor John Robertson OBA From Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly ​reportApril 2025 published today: Between December 2024 and February 2025, the number of drug-related attendances at emergency departments (888) was 9% lower than the previous quarter (977). This was 18% lower than the same period commencing in December 2022 (1,074) and 14% lower than in the same period commencing in December 2023 (1,035). Between October and December 2024, 1,795 drug-related hospital admissions were recorded. This was 19% lower than the previous quarter (2,204). Admissions were similar to the same period in 2022 (1,799) and 17% lower than … Continue reading Thanks to Scottish Government’s world-leading opioid overdose reversal programme, drug-related hospital admissions plummet for third year

Professor John Robertson OBA From Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly ​reportApril 2025: There were 251 suspected drug deaths, 17% higher than in the previous 12-week period (215). This was 12% lower than the same period commencing in December 2022 (285) and 17% lower than in the same period commencing in December 2023 (304). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/rapid-action-drug-alerts-and-response-radar-quarterly-report/rapid-action-drug-alerts-and-response-radar-quarterly-report-april-2025/harm-indicators/suspected-drug-deaths/ The one-quarter variation is not significant but the trend is clearly down, with weekly lows hovering around 15 deaths per week since early 2024 as opposed to 20 before that. This positive trend is being limited by the recent flow of cheap, powerful, … Continue reading Suspected drug deaths – significant fall in early 2025 to confirming falling trend in early 2024 and 2023

Professor John Robertson OBA I was shocked to see the above chart in the Guardian today. The Guardian did not, of course, bother to consider the interests of its readers elsewhere in the UK. From Homelessness in Scotland: 2023-24 published in September 2024: 33,619 households assessed as homeless 38,075 adults 15,474 children https://www.gov.scot/publications/homelessness-in-scotland-2023-24/ 53 549 people or a ratio of 99.26 per 10 000 people in Scotland’s 5.44 million. Continue reading England has highest homelessness rate in OECD more than FOUR TIMES higher than in Scotland

Professor John Robertson OBA Only a few minutes long but packed with disturbing news for BBC Scotland’s Breakfast insert, this morning, the had drug deaths in prison and supposedly a lack of support for that, issues around domestic abuse and job losses at Dundee University. I’ve done research to prove that this is a constant agenda to emphasis the negative and anything that might be attributed to the Scottish Government. See these comparisons with STV and BBC Wales for detail: Today, on prison addiction treatment, they won’t tell you this On, domestic abuse, they certainly won’t tell you these stories: … Continue reading A morning of just prison addiction deaths, domestic abuse and job losses, chosen specially by the BBC Scotland editor, and the good news they won’t be telling you

Professor John Robertson OBA From How safe is your city? in the Complete University Guide for 2025: Above, the safest University cities in England and Wales in terms of incidents per 1 000 population. and the most dangerous, above. So, what do you think the data for Scotland might reveal? The stereotypes are still with us, but: In every English university town you are significantly more likely to be a victim of violent crime than in any Scottish one. I haven’t see this reported anywhere. Source: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/student-advice/where-to-study/how-safe-is-your-city Continue reading Latest – University students at far lower risk of violence in Scotland than in EVERY other campus in the UK

Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland seems to have no video evidence of corridor care of the kind shown by BBC Breakfast this morning (above) and Jackie Baillie, Labour health spokesperson had to use us evidence from English wards to lie that there is comparable evidence from Scotland. I feel so sure that had Reporting Scotland anything like the above, we’d see it repeatedly. BBC Breakfast, this morning, reported that the Health Foundation had found ‘the NHS (sic) was in distress this winter.’ There is no mention of Scotland in the full report. They summarised: BBC Scotland did not follow-up. … Continue reading Researchers say NHS England A&E ‘in distress’ over the winter with twice as many waiting more than 12 hours in A&E than in Scotland

A ferry f***up? Deputy Kirsten Morel was in charge of Jersey’s ferry tender process but seems to think we’d understand that it was difficult for him. Professor John Robertson OBA The media in Scotland have been platforming regularly the notion that CalMac and the SNP Government are to blame for the privately-owned Ardrossan harbour not being maintained and improved in time for the new bigger ferry everybody on Arran, it seems, was desperate for. They’ve also been dramatizing the notion that the folk of South Uist (pop 1 754) have been traumatised by having to accept a free ride to … Continue reading We’re going to need a bigger stronger boat – Channel Islands’ Danish ferry not strong enough for lorries is disastrous for families and health of islanders