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Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults – Scotland leads in and other countries could benefit from dedicated, accessible funding for preventative community work

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults – Year 4 – Monitoring and reporting summary published today: Key Findings – Reach of Funded Projects: Number of awards: 1,462 grants have been awarded in Year 4 which has resulted in funding for 1,446 organisations. This means 6,192 awards have been made across the first four years of the Fund. Balance of new and existing projects: Of the project data returned, 41% were new projects, 56% were existing projects, and data was not available for 3% of projects. Small grants: Overall, most grants (56%) were for £10,000 or … Continue reading Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults – Scotland leads in and other countries could benefit from dedicated, accessible funding for preventative community work

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As UK Labour acts to worsen hospital postcode lottery fears in England with a league table, how Scotland’s hospitals are all pretty much the same – good, safe, reliable

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Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today, the above and: New league tables rating the performance of NHS trusts in England have been published for the first time, with specialist hospitals taking the top slots. Number one is Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, followed by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust and cancer centre the Christie NHS Foundation Trust. At the bottom is Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, which has … Continue reading As UK Labour acts to worsen hospital postcode lottery fears in England with a league table, how Scotland’s hospitals are all pretty much the same – good, safe, reliable

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In the wake of the Daily Record front page today – The Media’s Alarming Influence on Knife Crime Perception

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stewartb From a UK charity with a mission to reduce knife crime and improve community safety – https://knives4lives.co.uk ‘The Media’s Alarming Influence on Knife Crime Perception’ (November 15, 2024) – ‘The media holds significant power in shaping public perception and policy around knife crime in the UK. ‘While its role in raising awareness is vital, media outlets need to offer balanced reporting. Their reporting should be nuanced and precise. By doing so, they can help foster informed public discourse. This approach can also reduce fear and stigmatisation.’ And on what media influence could facilitate: ‘Furthermore, it supports the development of effective, long-term solutions to this pressing … Continue reading In the wake of the Daily Record front page today – The Media’s Alarming Influence on Knife Crime Perception

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FACTCHECK – How the former Lambeth councillor and helicoptered-in Labour MP lies about NHS Scotland and NHS England

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Professor John Robertson OBA From PMQs yesterday, Imogen Walker MP, fed the PM with these demonstrably questionable statements. In Hamilton and Clyde valley my constituents are struggling to access the health care that they desperately need. In the last quarter of 2024, NHS Lanarkshire, treated 97% of cancer referrals with a decision to treat within 31 days and 96.2% of urgent referrals with a suspicion of cancer within 62 days.1 The target is 95%. The equivalent figures for England were 91.3% and a shocking 69.6%.2 In the same period, for the critical 18 week target for life-threatening conditions, NHS Lanarkshire … Continue reading FACTCHECK – How the former Lambeth councillor and helicoptered-in Labour MP lies about NHS Scotland and NHS England

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‘Disaster’: Call to fire disgusting Herald writer as number of Scots children in temporary accommodation remains far below level in England and is growing three times less quickly

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald today has this tasteless and inaccurate view of a ‘homeless’ child. ‘Disaster’: Call to fire housing minister as number of Scots homeless children soars – Calls have been made for the housing minister to be fired as the number of children in temporary accommodation has hit record levels – shooting up by over 14% in two years. Homeless does not mean on the street. It means in temporary accommodation meeting basic standards. The Herald is trying to shock you with this image. From STV, under another poverty porn image, today: The number of children living … Continue reading ‘Disaster’: Call to fire disgusting Herald writer as number of Scots children in temporary accommodation remains far below level in England and is growing three times less quickly

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News you won’t hear – Injury road collisions plummet by up to a third since 2019

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Transport Scotland – Road accidents in Scotland data: FOI release, published today, we can see that all road collisions with an injury, at all speed limits, have fallen dramatically since 2019, ignoring the Pandemic-caused dips in 2020 and 2021 when road traffic was significantly reduced. Of particular interest, the injury collisions in the 30mph limit have fallen by 34%. Similarly, collisions involving HGVs have fallen across all speed limits> Critics may spot, if they read on, that injury road collisions where speed contributed to the collision have increased slightly since 2019, from 165 to 173 but … Continue reading News you won’t hear – Injury road collisions plummet by up to a third since 2019

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Despite far more patients assessed and cared for at home, NHS Scotland still maintains more hospital beds than NHS England

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks once again to AR for alerting to me to this. The Sunday Times today has a report on the state of an imaginary NHS UK and the declining provision of hospital beds is presented as a major problem, which it is, if you have not done so in response to a major shift toward properly assessed and supported care at home. From People requiring a social care assessment and care at home services, published on December 17th 2024, by the Scottish Government: The number of people estimated to be waiting on a social care assessment to enable them … Continue reading Despite far more patients assessed and cared for at home, NHS Scotland still maintains more hospital beds than NHS England

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90% of English councils failed to delivery audited accounts for 2022-23 making the GERS data even more just GUFF

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. From Civil Service World yesterday: The National Audit Office has refused to give an opinion on the latest Whole of Government Accounts for the first time ever because of major backlogs in local-authority audits. Out of 426 local authorities across England, just 43 – around 10% – submitted reliable data to the WGA [Whole of government Accounts]. Just over half of those remaining submitted information that had not been audited, while 187 councils – 44% of the total – did not submit any data at all. https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/whole-government-accounts-nao-disclaimed-opinion-local-authorities-missing-data This is shocking. Imagine it … Continue reading 90% of English councils failed to delivery audited accounts for 2022-23 making the GERS data even more just GUFF

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SNP MSP campaigns for years to get Tory council to act on derelict sites but BBC Scotland ignore that and credit late-arriving Labour MSP to aid his campaign for 2026

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By stewartb It’s unfortunate that the specific derelict site in Dumfries is not named. From the picture, I wonder if it is what is referred to locally as the ‘former Interfloor factory’? For information and interest, a search of the official record of the Scottish Parliament shows that the SNP MSP for South Scotland, Emma Harper has been campaigning for the problem of derelict sites locally to be solved. In August 2022, Harper together with Heathhall Community Council launched a public petition: ‘to call on Dumfries and Galloway Council to take immediate and effective action to address the vacant, derelict, … Continue reading SNP MSP campaigns for years to get Tory council to act on derelict sites but BBC Scotland ignore that and credit late-arriving Labour MSP to aid his campaign for 2026

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As the Guardian highlights long ambulance wait deaths, how Scotland’s ambulances were FOUR times faster in early 2024 before BBC pulled the site where I got the facts

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA In the Guardian today, the above, and: A lot of people, like Dave, have had to wait for an ambulance. One patient in Wales waited 46 hours and 46 minutes after a fall. Ambulance response times vary across the UK. In England they rose sharply in September, and emergency care performance is also down, as the NHS heads into a difficult winter. A Guardian investigation found that, in 2022, the year Dave Strachan spent nine hours and 52 minutes waiting for an ambulance, more than 500 patients in England died after a delayed ambulance response. This included people who had been in accidents, … Continue reading As the Guardian highlights long ambulance wait deaths, how Scotland’s ambulances were FOUR times faster in early 2024 before BBC pulled the site where I got the facts