BBC Scotland and the other MSM have: Increase in suspected drugs deaths across Scotland. The number of suspected drug deaths in Scotland increased towards the end of 2022, new figures show. In the first nine months of last year, figures published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) showed a 21% reduction in the number of fatal overdoses. However, numbers began to rise in later months, with 109 deaths in November alone. This is higher than the same month in both 2021 (89) and 2020 (93). The report states that suspected drug deaths increased between October and November but figures for October … Continue reading Is the dramatic fall in Scotland’s drug deaths for 2022 being hidden?

From Public Health Scotland today: The number of drug-related hospital admissions between July and September 2022 (2,024) were [sic] considerably lower compared to the same time period in 2020 (3,643) and 2021 (3,033). https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/rapid-action-drug-alerts-and-response-radar-quarterly-report/rapid-action-drug-alerts-and-response-radar-quarterly-report-january-2023/#section-2 In only two years, drug-related hospital admissions in Scotland have fallen 44.44%. Who is to blame? Continue reading Massive fall in Scotland’s drug-related hospital admissions reduces pressure on NHS

From Public Health Scotland today: 95.4% of the Scottish population were registered with an NHS dentist as at 30 September 2022. As at 30 September 2022, 87.2% of children were registered, compared to 87.4% on 30 September 2021. As at 30 September 2022, 2.6 million registered patients had seen an NHS dentist within the last two years (50.4% compared to 43.1% in March 2022). Registered children were more likely than adults to have seen an NHS dentist within the last two years (65.7% compared to 47.2%). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/dental-statistics-registration-and-participation/dental-statistics-nhs-registration-and-participation-24-january-2023/ Comparative data for England are not available, but according to the Guardian in … Continue reading More than 95% have access to NHS dentistry in Scotland

BBC Scotland: Waiting times at Scotland’s A&E departments have improved, according to the latest figures. Public Health Scotland data showed that of the 20,580 people seeking emergency care during week ending 15 January, 64% were seen during the target time of four hours. This was an increase from 57.2% the previous week and is the best performance since November. However the number of people going to A&E has been decreasing for weeks. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64385872 A typically grudging response to an 11.8% improvement, contrasting with a tendency to ignore increasing attendances at a time when increasing numbers are waiting. Not of much interest … Continue reading Massive fall in longer A&E waits

 ’A fundamentally dishonest way of reporting data’ – from House of Lords’ committee report on NHS England’s A&E waiting times. On hearing the evidence, Lord Bichard, a cross-bench peer, responded: ‘What you have just said is pretty devastating because the great British public thinks it is one thing but it is far worse.’ A consequence of failing mainstream British journalism, notably the PUBLIC SERVICE broadcaster’s several health ‘experts’? By stewartb The latest assessment of the state of the NHS comes from the House of Lords (HoL) Public Services Committee. This is a diverse body: it has a Labour peer as … Continue reading A&E waiting times: How NHS England and the BBC collude in ‘a fundamentally dishonest way of reporting’

It’s Dr Iain Kennedy again. As recently as 29 December, he was everywhere telling the same tale: Doctor Iain Kennedy is everywhere in the MSM, forecasting doom and scaring the old and vulnerable in a manner quite unworthy of a trained medic As the ever alert MSM Monitor has noted he fails to mention what his UK HQ has reported: NHS would not survive without the contribution of overseas healthcare workers, BMA says https://www.bma.org.uk/bma-media-centre/nhs-would-not-survive-without-the-contribution-of-overseas-healthcare-workers-bma-says Instead, he joins that venal posse of opposition politicians in blaming the ‘SNP Government.’ Again as MSM Monitor has revealed, he seems far too fond of … Continue reading Dr Iain Kennedy again

I keep reporting this in the hope that someone out there will have an evidence-based answer to the question why has Scotland, over the course of the last year and more, had a disproportionately small number of Covid cases requiring to be placed in intensive care. In the last week, England had 50% more and for most of early January 2023, had twice as many. The situation in Wales is even worse. With only three-fifths of the population, it typically has more ICU cases than Scotland. Why? I can find no hard evidence and, strangely, no interest in the phenomenon … Continue reading Still far fewer serious Covid cases in ICU in Scotland – why?

Like all of you more numerate readers out there, I have my reservations about the significance of weekly variations in NHS performance but our friends in the MSM have none such, and love nothing more than to pounce on any suggestion of lowering performance in NHS Scotland. So, in the week ending 8 January 2023: 4 387 waited over 8 hours, down 12% from 4 982 in the previous week. 2 245 waited over 12 hours, down 11% from 2 511 in the previous week. 57.3% were seen in 4 hours up from 56% in the previous week. Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-performs-weekly-update-of-emergency-department-activity-and-waiting-time-statistics/nhs-performs-weekly-update-of-emergency-department-activity-and-waiting-time-statistics-week-ending-08-january-2023/ Continue reading Dramatic fall in longer A&E waits in January

On the crisis in A&E:  ’neither the Department of Health and Social Care, nor NHS England, seem prepared to deliver the leadership required with the urgency required’  (House of Lords report, 19 January 2023) By stewartb The latest assessment of the state of emergency healthcare in the NHS comes from a new report by a House of Lords (HoL) committee. The Public Services Committee has a Labour peer as Chair, three other Labour members, three Tory members, two Lib Dems and two cross-benchers. The focus of the committee’s report is NHS England and some of its findings are quite remarkable! … Continue reading On the crisis in A&E in England

In the Herald today: SCOTLAND’S leading homelessness charity is to demand John Swinney reverses plans to cut affordable housing spending. https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/23266180.john-swiney-urged-drop-devastating-cuts-affordable-homes/ The criticism comes from Shelter. When I saw that my memory banks twitched. See this from September 2021: Regular visitors here will know that, according to research by the charity Crisis, the homeless rate in Scotland is about half that in England and the lowest in the UK. Full details here: https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/worst-forms-of-homelessness-less-common-in-scotland-than-england-research-finds/ In the media reporting, limited of course, the other main homeless charity, Shelter, have not commented, yet once more they appear (above) to criticise the SNP Government. … Continue reading Reasons to doubt Shelter Scotland’s agenda: Part 2