In December 2022, NHS England’s Type 1 (full) A&E department’s saw only 49.6% of admissions within the 4 hours target. 14.4% had to wait more than 12 hours. In Scotland the ED (full) average for the same month was 58.9%, 18.7% better. Around 10% had to wait more than 12 hours. In Barking, Havering And Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, the figure was a shocking 28.6%. Sources: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2022-23/ 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-01-january-2023 Continue reading NHS England’s A&E departments set new low and see fewer than half in 4 hours as NHS Scotland holds up at nearly 60% and 20% better

Fed by Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Herald’s Tom Gordon delights in the story of a Ukrainian refugee who allegedly went back to Kyiv for a quicker GP appointment. It will be quicker as the GP just asks her if she is mad and sends her straight back to Scotland. Why? Because, in 2018, even before the war: Ukraine has over 2200 hospitals and over 400,000 hospital beds (5,22 hospitals and 890,7 beds per 100,000population) in the public sector. In per capita terms, this is more than in EU countries. But the facilities have outdated equipment and very few are able to … Continue reading Lib Dumb’s Cole-Hamilton recommends use of outdated medical equipment in weakest post-Soviet health service

From the Herald’s ever-unreliable scare-story hound, today: Two quick responses. First, the research compares data from different years and for Scotland, is four years old at best. See: Second what is the actual source of the ‘third of Scots’ based on Prostate Cancer UK’s 35% figure? I can’t find it in any of their citations. Continue reading More unreliable ‘research’ to scare Scots

England has 10 times the population and so, all things being equal, might be expected to have around 100 Covid cases in ICU but has typically more than twice that. Scotland has 1.7 times the population of Wales and so, all things being equal, might be expected to have around 36 cases in ICU but typically has only 10, just over a quarter of that figure. The overall number of Covid cases in hospital is very similar in all 4 nations. It is only the number of severe cases in ICU that differs so much. All things are clearly not … Continue reading Why are there twice as many Covid ICU cases in England and nearly four times as many in Wales?

Today from BBC Scotland: The number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in emergency departments has hit its highest ever level, according to official figures. Public Health Scotland data shows 2,506 people spent more than half a day in A&E in the week ending 1 January. That was up from 2,183 the previous week – which at the time was the highest ever figure. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64222187 Once more the Pacific Quay juniors use a one-week data change rather than the more reliable monthly data which can be used to accurately put things in context. Here is some: Ambulance workers in Scotland, … Continue reading Reporting Scotland re-using last year’s resolution to scare the excrement out of vulnerable Scots

From Public Health Scotland today: Of all cancelled planned operations during November 2022, for NHSScotland (excl. NHS Lothian) 714 (3.3%) were cancelled by the hospital based on clinical reasons, 444 (2.1%) were cancelled by the hospital due to capacity or non-clinical reasons, 590 (2.8%) were cancelled by the patient, and 95 (0.4%) were cancelled due to other reasons. The rate of planned operations cancelled by the patient has been on an upward trend since March 2021 and is similar to pre-pandemic levels. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancelled-planned-operations/cancelled-planned-operations-month-ending-30-november-2022 The performance of NHS Scotland can only be measured in terms of the 444 (2.1%) which were … Continue reading NHS Scotland staffed and resourced to do 98% of operations on time

Reporting Scotland this morning happily parroting the ‘opposition parties’ and feasting on the Primary teachers strike and the First Minister’s ‘hospitals are full’ comment, repeats the call for the Scottish Health Secretary to resign. All of supposedly ‘our’ newspapers have the same full-blown scare on the NHS with no mention that our ambulance staff are not striking today. Failing badly in their claimed role as a taxpayer-funded public service provider, they don’t remind us that Scottish Ambulance staff are not on strike, unlike the ones triggering this sort of report elsewhere in the UK: I worry we’re killing people – … Continue reading As ambulance call centre workers in England & Wales ‘worry we’re killing people’, only the Scottish Health Secretary must resign?

The number of people with disabilities on social housing waiting list has almost doubled in the past five years according to figures from the Scottish Conservatives. The Party says there are currently 24 000 disabled people waiting for a flat or a house. That’s up from just under 10 000 in 2017. This is another direct feed from an opposition party to staff at Pacific Quay, not being covered anywhere else. Reports of this kind are increasingly being referred to as ‘Beatties’ in reference to BBC staffer John Beattie who is suspected of being a conduit for such stories. The … Continue reading Conservatives campaign for disabled housing? Don’t be daft

By stewartb On a lazy Saturday morning listening to BBC Radio 4, I was – to say the least – surprised to hear on the 11am UK news bulletin, in amongst big stories from the USA, from Westminster etc. a reference to a big story from Scotland. This news item (seemingly) worthy of such UK-wide profile was a demand from the Labour Party in Scotland – that’s from the third party in terms of seats in the Scottish Parliament – that the Scottish Government replicates a Tory policy. The latter is the capping of single bus fares in England at … Continue reading On the buses: Labour demands of the Scottish Government what Labour in England terms a Tory ‘half baked measure’

Thanks to reader gavinochiltree for alerting me to this. I cannot watch Kuenssberg. Fresh from demanding more maths teaching in schools, PM Sunak lies straight-faced on Kuenssberg this morning with wrong stats. In November 2022, 64.1% of admissions to full (ED) Scottish A&E departments were seen within 4 hours. 4.3% waited more than 12 hours. In the same period, in full (Type 1) English A&E departments, the figures were 54.4% and 10.2%. Scotland’s A&E (ED) departments were 18% better on the 4 hour target and, on the 12 hour target, more than twice as good. Kuenssberg’s reaction – none. I … Continue reading PM lies directly about A&E Waiting times in England and Scotland