Tag: covid-19

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When America sneezes the world catches a cold – As vaccine deniers in England get a boost from the appointment of RF Kennedy, the risk to Scotland increases

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA From ABC News last week: Doctors worried RFK Jr. will tout vaccine-skeptic views after he is picked for HHS secretary The appointment of Robert F Kennedy (above) to the post of Health and Human Services Secretary gives a major boost to the hopes of vaccine deniers in the USA and inevitably to those in the UK. Kennedy is already accused of playing a part in enabling the 2019 Samoa measles outbreak, with 83 deaths and 5 700 cases in a population of only just over 200 000. Only months before, he had travelled to Samoa and … Continue reading When America sneezes the world catches a cold – As vaccine deniers in England get a boost from the appointment of RF Kennedy, the risk to Scotland increases

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NHS Scotland performance likely to be even further ahead as five examples of cover-up and distortion by NHS England managers is revealed

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By Professor John Robertson: We already know that, based on trusting the current published NHS England data, NHS Scotland’s A&E service is around 3 times better on the crucial 12 hour waits1 and twice as effective on cancer treatment waits.2 However, after decades of rampant managerialism, there have been a number of scandals where these managers, more concerned with image than truth, have introduced procedures to hide the facts. First, back in 2018, it became apparent that NHS England had the dubious practice of restarting the clock after A&E patients are admitted whereas in Scotland counting continues from first arrival.3 See … Continue reading NHS Scotland performance likely to be even further ahead as five examples of cover-up and distortion by NHS England managers is revealed

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A&E – Scottish Daily Express front page is a disgraceful example of misrepresentation

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stewartb The Scottish Daily Express front page article – by its Scottish Political Reporter – is a disgraceful example of misrepresentation. It seeks to link excess deaths following a visit to A&E with NHS Scotland missing its four hour standard of 95% of patients being discharged, transferred or admitted within four hours. The postulated causal link between an increase in excess deaths and A&E attendance advanced by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) is concerned primarily with time periods of over eight and more significantly, over 12 hours. The Express fails to make this clear despite there being multiple … Continue reading A&E – Scottish Daily Express front page is a disgraceful example of misrepresentation

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The simple facts that reveal the extent to which the SNP Government better protected us against Covid deaths despite the delay in devolving responsibility and Johnson’s callous inertia – saving thousands

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By Professor John Robertson OBA I’m grateful to @amaccj for reminding me of this and for the link to the source. When the final assessment is made, we need to set the scene with these facts: Two years later, in February 2022, as the pandemic receded, the simple consequences in terms of mortality in different parts of the UK can be see in this table from the UK Covid 19 Inquiry report6: Other than the isolated South-west of England, Scotland had the lowest mortality rate of the 4 nations, even lower than Northern Ireland sheltered by its sea gap. 15% more … Continue reading The simple facts that reveal the extent to which the SNP Government better protected us against Covid deaths despite the delay in devolving responsibility and Johnson’s callous inertia – saving thousands

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Children’s Cancer Wards Inquiry – Relying on a doctor who resigned before the supposed ‘spike’, repeating the lie that there was a ‘spike’ in infections and ignoring fact that QEUH’s child cancer wards had the same infection rate as other hospitals

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Today, BBC Scotland tells us: A senior doctor has told an inquiry she was “appalled” at the state of child cancer wards when a new £870m hospital opened in Glasgow in 2015. In evidence presented to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, infection control doctor Teresa Inkster said she felt “something had gone horribly wrong”. Dr Inkster was the lead infection control doctor for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde from April 2016 to September 2019. During that time the children’s cancer wards were forced to close because of a spike in unusual infections. Note the use of the word ‘felt’ … Continue reading Children’s Cancer Wards Inquiry – Relying on a doctor who resigned before the supposed ‘spike’, repeating the lie that there was a ‘spike’ in infections and ignoring fact that QEUH’s child cancer wards had the same infection rate as other hospitals

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SHOCK LATEST – Scotland’s flu deaths among over 65’s at HALF the level in England – why?

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By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today: At least 18,000 deaths in England were associated with flu over the past two winters, figures have revealed, as health experts urge those eligible to take up a free vaccination on the NHS. 1 There’s no breakdown of the two years so, roughly, 9 000 per year, on average. The Daily Record today, repeated the above shocking headline figures for England, then without any sign of surprise, had: In Scotland in 2023, 447 people died from flu and so far this year another 345 have succumbed to the illness.2 Regulars and those stats lovers … Continue reading SHOCK LATEST – Scotland’s flu deaths among over 65’s at HALF the level in England – why?

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Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland but 9 in England

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From the BMJ yesterday: Nine infants died from whooping cough in England between November last year and the end of May 2024, the UK Health Security Agency has reported. Altogether a total of 7599 cases of whooping cough have been confirmed in England this year, with cases continuing to rise from 555 in January to 920 in February, 1427 in March, 2106. https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj.q1545.full I’ll be accused of being a ghoul for this but by the same folk who love to blame our drug deaths on the SNP Government, so from our regular contributor stewartb in May 2024: My suspicion – … Continue reading Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland but 9 in England

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Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland – 96% vaccine update

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By stewartb My suspicion – because I’ve never come across anything about whooping cough in the mainstream media that supposedly ‘serves’ Scotland – is that there may well be a favourable story on Scotland’s health services somewhere in the above from Sky News today and indeed there is! From Public Health Scotland on 26 March 2024 (‘Childhood immunisation statistics Scotland – Quarter and year ending 31 December 2023’) , we learn that the vaccination for pertussis, or whooping cough since October 2017, has been ‘part of the combined 6-in-1 vaccine, consisting of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib and Hepatitis B. A booster dose … Continue reading Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland – 96% vaccine update

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Lessons From Australia on Scotland’s NHS 

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By Fraser Grant The Scottish media gave a lot of coverage to Dr Michael Mrozinski who told BBC Reporting Scotland on Thursday that blaming Covid for NHS failings was just spin.  This was eagerly picked up by The Scotsman (1) which then ran an editorial on Saturday headlined “Australia punctures SNP spin about NHS crisis” (2). However, the Australian health system is not as rosy as portrayed by Dr Michael Mrozinski, as a Victoria University publication on 15 December 2023 on the dire nursing shortage (3)  stated that “recent COVID-19 pandemic tested the resolve of many – if not most – nurses, with … Continue reading Lessons From Australia on Scotland’s NHS 

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The politicised campaign against one of the safest hospitals in the UK

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Glasgow’s supposedly ‘troubled‘ super-hospital, the QEUH, has been a steady supplier of stories based on one or two statistically insignificant cases, Scottish Labour ‘ambulance-chasing’ of these few cases and infections ‘linked to‘ deaths there. Try googling ‘QEUH deaths‘ and you’ll see how obsessive the media interest has been. Today, Reporting Scotland is headlining a story of a complaint by some staff based on possible risks with no actual figures to prove any consequences in terms of deaths in the hospital. For years, now, I’ve been trying to counter this shameless demonising of an institution in a proxy war against SNP … Continue reading The politicised campaign against one of the safest hospitals in the UK