English Health Secretary and former PR man, Matt Hancock, has announced a badge of honour for care staff so that they can get the kind of public recognition they deserve. The estimated cost will be £0.14 per person for the badges. The contract has already gone to a manufacturer in Wuhan, China. In Scotland: ‘Social care support workers providing direct adult support will have their pay increased to at least the Real Living Wage rate of £9.30 an hour for all hours worked, including sleep-overs and hours worked by personal assistants. The Scottish Government will also provide funding to third … Continue reading Former PR man offers a wee badge while former nurse offers the living wage

In the New European today: Sam Gompels, managing director of Gompels HealthCare – a Wiltshire-based PPE distributor – said it was not Public Health England’s (PHE) fault that Scottish health authorities were too slow to establish distribution channels and that the health body had a right to demand the equipment remain within its borders: “The fact is Public Health England got their finger out and organised these distribution channels and are getting pilloried for it because public health Scotland, or whatever the equivalent is, have not necessarily organised the same and that’s probably the nub of it.” But, of course, … Continue reading Has PPE supplier, Sam Gompels, misunderstood whose finger was being extracted?

In Scotland: https://www.careinspectorate.com/ In England: https://www.cqc.org.uk/ Some examples: Chaston House in London: ‘People were not protected from the risk of infection and cross contamination.’ Invictus in Ryde: ‘Staff did not use equipment and control measures to protect patients, themselves and others from infection.’ Hands of Compassion Care in Chatham: ‘Good practice was not always followed, for example infection control needed to be improved.’ The Hawthorns in Wilmslow: ‘People were not always protected from the risk of infection. Some areas were not clean.’ ‘Many staff, including those employed to undertake cleaning tasks had not completed any training in health and safety, … Continue reading Infection Control in Care Homes: 81 English care homes fail inspections in last month but all in Scotland pass

I’m greatful to Gregg Brain (!) for tweeting the above and to TuSC feeder Brenda Steele for simultaneously emailing it to me. Strength in numbers! It’s clear and unsatisfactory such that the Scottish Health Secretary must get back to Hancock and call him out properly. The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. Scottish care homes cannot register with them and thus will be unable to order PPE from the stockpile referred to. Continue reading Stockpiled PPE has been released ONLY to care providers who can register with the Care Quality Commisison in England

No, I don’t tire of this topic. In March 2020 NHS England’s Type 1 A&E departments saw 76.% of patients within 4 hours up from 73% in February. https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2019-20/ The March average for NHS Scotland has not yet been published but it is easily worked out from the four weekly reports, at 83.8, 87.1, 92.2 and 92.7%. The average was 88.95% https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/health-services/hospital-care/nhs-performs-weekly-update-of-emergency-department-activity-and-waiting-time-statistics/ Thus, the Scottish service was 17.03% better. Reporting Scotland, of course, saw this as a massive failure as far fewer people were turning up yet they could not hit the 95% target. BBC 1 News did not, of … Continue reading As coronavirus peaked, NHS Scotland’s Accident and Emergency service was ‘massive’ 17% better than NHS England but for RepScot it was ‘Nah! Nah! Still missed the target!’

In another classic ‘blue meanie’ report from Helen McArdle, the Herald’s Visiting Health Correspondent, with that other ‘blue meanie’ Hugh Penningtom in her corner, we get a desperate attempt to make sure we don’t start thinking that NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government or Scots for that matter played any part in the stark and growing divide between the coronavirus death rate in Scotland and in England. First, using evidence from South-East Asia she concludes that population density will have been a big factor, with England having a much higher level than Scotland. This is the first daft one. Central Scotland … Continue reading Could Scotland’s much lower death rate have been earned?

The story has disappeared from the BBC but the Herald seems prepared to defend Hancock: ‘NICOLA Sturgeon is investigating reports that personal protective equipment (PPE) for care home staff is being diverted south of the border – as Scotland’s Health Secretary admitted her English counterpart has not diverted safety gear away from Scotland – as was initially feared.’ ‘Admitted?’ What on earth would she be admitting to? Here’s what she actually said: ‘Pleased @MattHancock changed his plans to join a constructive discussion of 4 Health Ministers & grateful 4 assurance that neither NHS England nor PHE asked suppliers to divert PPE orders from Scotland. … Continue reading PPE: For ‘assurances’ read schoolboy tries to get away with it then has to give huffy apology

The ‘true’ NRS coronavirus-related death in Scotland rate from coronavirus is just under half that, per capita, of NHS-only rate in England. The emerging ‘truer’ figures for England and Wales, from the ONS, are revealing that the rate may be double the Government statistics there so it may be four times higher than in Scotland. Remember the Scottish Government has been using the Scottish equivalent to the ONS figures, from the NRS, for a week now to get a truer picture: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/covid19stats Now figures have emerged from the Centre for Cities think-tank. Paul Swinney [No relation?], Director, is the source … Continue reading Have Scots played a big part in saving themselves?

I was puzzled by Leitch’s quick and forthright comments for Radio Scotland, on the report that PPE is not being provided to Scottish care homes, as ‘rubbish.’ He claimed to have looked into it before declaring it to be ‘rubbish’ yet within hours, the Times had published evidence that it was not so, Jeane Freeman had warned Matt Hancock chasing him into hiding and his boss the First Minister was now taking the claims seriously. I didn’t know he was a CBE as he doesn’t seem to use the title but it doesn’t sit well with working for a Government … Continue reading Has Professor and Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Jason Leitch, let his mask slip?

BBC Scotland and the Herald, predictably, leaped gleefully on the apparent rebuttal of the story that UK PPE suppliers were refusing to deliver to Scottish care homes because English ones had the greater need, but before they could sit down, everything changed again. In the morning Jason Leitch had provided them with the headline they so wanted but by midday his boss, the FM, was saying something quite different. She said they would be investigating the claims and, ominously: ‘Any situation where supplies were being diverted from one part of the UK to the other without consultation or any sense … Continue reading Update: FIVE REASONS why the ‘PPE discrimination against Scotland’ reports are NOT rubbish!