Tag: england

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Under Labour NHS Wales hospital waiting list soars to TWICE that per head in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson: From BBC Wales two days ago: Hospital waiting list tops 800,000 for first time 1 Scotland? From the doctors’ trade union, the BMA, in July 2024: As of March 2024, more than 690,000 people were on the NHS Scotland waiting list for inpatient and outpatient treatments, which is the highest number ever recorded.2 Shorter in Scotland than in Wales? Yes, but Scotland has a bigger population so the gap per head is even greater. With 5.44 million to Wales’ 3.16 million, Scotland’s population served by NHS Scotland is 1.7 times greater. So, for a fair, pro rate, … Continue reading Under Labour NHS Wales hospital waiting list soars to TWICE that per head in Scotland

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NHS England spending THREE TIMES more on private healthcare than NHS Scotland as their waiting list soars by 800 000 more under UK Government

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By Professor John Robertson: The Guardian today has: Private healthcare boom fuelled by NHS waiting lists. UK market rose to all-time high of £12.4bn last year, with NHS paying for nearly £3.5bn of procedures to ease backlog. More patients went private last year as the NHS waiting list peaked at 7.77 million in September, up sharply from 4.57 million at the end of 2019.1 There’s no mention of Scotland in the report so we can be sure ‘UK’, as often before, means ‘England’. In 2022/23, the total amount spent by NHS health boards in Scotland on private healthcare was £115,599,000.2 All things being … Continue reading NHS England spending THREE TIMES more on private healthcare than NHS Scotland as their waiting list soars by 800 000 more under UK Government

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Abortion and shoplifting – signs of the pressure on the poor to survive which are moderated at least to some extent in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson: The Guardian yesterday had the above, 469 788 shoplifting offences, across England and Wales in the year to June 2024.1 In Scotland, the figure for the year to March 2024 was 38 674 according to the Grocery Gazette in June 2024.2 With 11 times the population, all things being equal and per head, England and Wales might have been expected to have had 425 000 cases but actually had 469 788, nearly 45 000 or 10.6% more. 10.6% is statistically significant. It tells you something is going on. Researchers into poverty levels say the presence of foodbanks … Continue reading Abortion and shoplifting – signs of the pressure on the poor to survive which are moderated at least to some extent in Scotland

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FACTCHECK: ‘Ultra long’ A&E waits far less common in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson: Dr John Paul Loughrey of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Hot Yoga enthusiast (@Jploughrey) has no time to grapple with the the facts as he helps BBC Scotland headline with another emergency services scare story about long waits in A&E and the risk they poses, especially for the more vulnerable. Missing from Dr Loughrey’s assessment of ultra long delays, in this BBC Scotland report, this: First, NHS England: THREE times as many wait more than 12 hours in England’s A&E departments NHS England, Type one A&E, for May 2024, 138 770 waiting more … Continue reading FACTCHECK: ‘Ultra long’ A&E waits far less common in Scotland

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A flood of water complaints in England and Wales but barely a dribble in Scotland

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In the Guardian today: The number of customer complaints that were unable to be resolved by water companies in England and Wales has risen by almost a third to the highest level in nearly a decade. There was a 29% increase in 2023-24 in cases escalated to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) by households that failed to achieve a resolution from their supplier, the watchdog said. The jump has been fuelled by consumer discontent over sewage spills, billing mistakes and problems with water meters, with customers having exhausted their water supplier’s two-stage complaints process by the time they turned to the CCW. Its annual report … Continue reading A flood of water complaints in England and Wales but barely a dribble in Scotland

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Scottish Emergency departments holding steady despite demand increasing by 21% and performing 5% better than NHS England yet seeing 25% more patients per head

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland, today, we see that 65.8% of all admissions to full emergency departments (ED) were treated within 4 hours in August 2024, down roughly 10% on January 2020 but now at the same level since January 2023. In the same period, demand increased from 110 742 to 133 454, up 20.9%. In NHS England: From NHS England, we see that 62.5% of all admissions to full emergency departments (Type 1) were treated within 4 hours in August 2024, similar to January 2020 and at roughly the same level since January then. In the … Continue reading Scottish Emergency departments holding steady despite demand increasing by 21% and performing 5% better than NHS England yet seeing 25% more patients per head

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Police Chiefs celebrate 6 years of disrupting County Lines gang terror and the need for a Scottish Coordinator, ‘recognising the lines from England that impact this part of the UK’

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The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC), part of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and funded by the Home Office marks six years of disrupting County lines drug gangs, today.  Since 2018, 5 627 lines have been closed, more than 16,500 people arrested and 8,800 individuals safeguarded. Every policing region in England and Wales has a dedicated NCLCC Co-ordinator and analytical resource to measure this threat and access to the Continuous Improvement Team to support with their force response to County Lines. In addition, there is a programme funded Co-ordinator in Scotland, recognising the lines from England that impact … Continue reading Police Chiefs celebrate 6 years of disrupting County Lines gang terror and the need for a Scottish Coordinator, ‘recognising the lines from England that impact this part of the UK’

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UK Labour Transport Secretary does not even mention Isle of Wight’s ferry fiasco

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From Island Echo, yesterday: Isle of Wight East MP Joe Robertson says that Islanders should be ‘deeply concerned’ that no mention was given to ferries in a keynote speech by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh this week. At the Labour Party Conference on Monday, Louise talked about ‘ripping up the roots of Thatcherism’ across UK transport but made no reference at all to ferries. The Secretary of State for Transport spoke extensively about trains and buses and mentioned flying, cycling and walking. But the lack of any mention of ferries – including cross-Solent ferries – has raised questions as to whether … Continue reading UK Labour Transport Secretary does not even mention Isle of Wight’s ferry fiasco

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Scotland’s dramatically better cancer waiting times

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Today, BBC UK’s Nick Triggle has: The cancers with longest treatment waits revealed with the above graph for NHS England data. I’ve added, where possible, equivalent Scottish data. While skin and prostate/kidney waiting times do seem slightly longer in Scotland, in 5 key areas, including breast, lung and liver cancers, NHS Scotland ‘s performance is dramatically better, saving thousands of lives. Triggle only mentions Scotland once: See what he’s done there? Scotland, on that measure alone, seems worse than England because he is careful not to tell us how close the two countries were to the … Continue reading Scotland’s dramatically better cancer waiting times

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Scottish Labour MP suggests following England’s failed strategies

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In the Scotsman today, above, Dr Zubir Ahmed, Labour, notes the crisis in A&E and and cancer care in England, then suggests Scotland might learn from there. He clearly does not know or does not want to know this: First, on A&E longer waiting times, by stewartb, from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine data: On the longest times spent in A&E i.e. 12 hours or more, the equivalent percentages during January 2024 are: England = 13.2%; Wales = 15.5%; Scotland = 8%. On more than 8 hour waits, the equivalent percentages during January 2024 are: Wales = 24%; Scotland = 16%. (NHS … Continue reading Scottish Labour MP suggests following England’s failed strategies