Tag: family

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Why frailty among older people seems less common to GPs in Scotland – Stronger family cohesion and less family fragmentation

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Guardian yesterday: GPs failing older people living with frailty, National Audit Office finds Did the national audit report blame the Labour Government for any of this? Did it note that England had far fewer GPs per head than Scotland. No and no. I asked AI: Are there reports of GPs failing older people living with frailty in Scotland? While there are no explicit reports mirroring the recent National Audit Office (NAO) findings in England—where GPs were found to be failing in assessing and supporting older people living with frailty, with only 16-18% receiving key … Continue reading Why frailty among older people seems less common to GPs in Scotland – Stronger family cohesion and less family fragmentation

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The ‘creepy’ use of their own children to make political points is still with us

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Professor John Robertson OBA In October 2025, a Lib Dem EdinburghCity Councillor, Sanne Dijksta-Downie, used her 6-year-old daughter’s cancer diagnosis and recovery to suggest some sort of crisis in NHS Scotland under the heading ‘COST-CUTTING EVERYWHERE’. Bizarrely, her first example of cost-cutting was that there were never enough pillows for parents staying over on the ward! She went on then to bemoan the quality of pizzas given to patients and cups of tea and biscuits requiring to be provided by charities. She then complains about having to help with feeding, washing and toileting. Isn’t that a good thing for the … Continue reading The ‘creepy’ use of their own children to make political points is still with us

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Factcheck – Maternity services in NHS Scotland far far safer than in NHS England

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today: Pregnant women in England are at growing risk of suffering a serious injury while giving birth, NHS figures reveal. The number of mothers sustaining a third- or fourth-degree perineal tear while delivering their baby has risen from 25 in 1,000 in June 2020 to 29 in 1,000 in June this year – a 16% increase. Such injuries can have a “life-changing” impact on women’s physical and mental health, cause post-traumatic stress disorder and leave them afraid to have another child. Childbirth experts linked the rise in the most serious forms of tear to poor NHS care, … Continue reading Factcheck – Maternity services in NHS Scotland far far safer than in NHS England

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Why has there been a massive but unreported reduction in the number of children on the child protection register in Scotland and a widening gap with the other 3 nations but the Herald is on a completely different track?

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With only 3 days left, 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 – John Robertson, Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA With a tasteless image to cheaply exploit your only-human emotional response and another infantile adding up to get a big number habit, the Herald today has: More than 100,000 Children’s Panel hearings have been held in Scotland since 2020 amid concerns over the efficacy of the nation’s child protection system. A leading children’s charity has raised the alarm, telling The Herald that the ‘stark’ figures demonstrate Scotland’s “national childhood emergency”. … Continue reading Why has there been a massive but unreported reduction in the number of children on the child protection register in Scotland and a widening gap with the other 3 nations but the Herald is on a completely different track?

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As the Southport Inquiry brings focus back onto online purchase of Zombie knives how 900 times as many, 90 times as many per head, mentioned in crime reports in England & Wales

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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 By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC 1, first thing on 19 February 205, headlining the above issue. BBC Scotland did not follow up with the situation in Scotland, leaving many to think it must just be the same here. Imagine drug deaths were the current concern of the Home Secretary? Would BBC Scotland be reminding us that Scotland has the highest rate in Europe? We all know the answer to that. Here’s what you … Continue reading As the Southport Inquiry brings focus back onto online purchase of Zombie knives how 900 times as many, 90 times as many per head, mentioned in crime reports in England & Wales

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Which Scottish public service has the highest customer service rating? I’ll give you a clue – it has red and black funnels

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Professor John Robertson OBA We’ve seen a steady stream of politicised propaganda based on CalMac for a few years now and as recently as the above Scotsman headline only 5 days ago, suggesting some kind of crisis in Scotland’s west coast ferry system. You’d think, given its frequency and intensity, it must be real and that, because of that, ferry-users would be making their views clear, on the day they were in some way disappointed, through the company’s own evaluation easily accessible to them. They have made their views clear, but not in the way media critics might have hoped … Continue reading Which Scottish public service has the highest customer service rating? I’ll give you a clue – it has red and black funnels

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US doctor sees a trend in young St. Louis cancer patients living near nuclear waste sites to remind of Scotland’s highest cancer death rate in Europe just downwind and downstream of Sellafield

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Fox News yesterday: ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis doctor is looking into cancer rates across the region, trying to figure out why he’s seeing more younger patients.  One of his younger patients was Dre Bergeson, a loving wife to her husband, Darryl, and mother to their 8-year-old son, Finn.  “She was kind, compassionate, and loving, always thinking about everyone else but herself, even through the diagnosis,” Darryl Bergeson said. He said Dre began having heartburn and pain in August of last year. She had a CT scan in September. “There was a large mass … Continue reading US doctor sees a trend in young St. Louis cancer patients living near nuclear waste sites to remind of Scotland’s highest cancer death rate in Europe just downwind and downstream of Sellafield

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Why has there been a massive but unreported reduction in the number of children on the child protection register in Scotland and a widening gap with the other 3 nations?

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair This caught me off-guard today. I was astonished to read this and to see that it is not a major news item for ‘our’ media. From the Scottish Government, yesterday: On 31 July 2024, 2,129 children were on the child protection register, representing a 3% increase on 2023 (2,077) and a 26% decrease on 2014 (2,877). During the year, 3,167 children were registered onto the child protection register, representing a 2% decrease on 2022-23 (3,234) and a 31% decrease on 2013-14 (4,622). https://www.gov.scot/publications/childrens-social-work-statistics-child-protection-2023-24/ These are massive reductions in only 10 years … Continue reading Why has there been a massive but unreported reduction in the number of children on the child protection register in Scotland and a widening gap with the other 3 nations?

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BBC Good Mourning Scotland reports ‘high’ cost of full child care in Scotland as costs in England soar well above it

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Many thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. BBC Radio Good Mourning Scotland this morning, about the allegedly high cost of full nursery care in Scotland, put it at £167 per week. As ever no context such as the Guardian report today: Parents can expect to spend more than £1,000 per child for care over the school summer holidays, according to research. A survey by the children’s charity Coram found that British families will be paying, on average, £1,049 for summer childcare for children aged from four to 14 – £635 more than they would pay for six weeks … Continue reading BBC Good Mourning Scotland reports ‘high’ cost of full child care in Scotland as costs in England soar well above it

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SNP to be first in Europe to eradicate child poverty as it surges under Cons and Labour

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As the SNP’s much lauded, revolutionary Child Payment begins to widen the gap between levels in Scotland and the rest of the UK, the First Minister, John Swinney has announced £16 million for childcare services to help deliver his vision of a Scotland free from child poverty: In a statement to Parliament, the First Minister set out the four priorities that will underpin the work of his government. He said eradicating child poverty would be his government’s single most important objective. Over the next two years, the Scottish Government will provide additional funding to expand access to childcare services within … Continue reading SNP to be first in Europe to eradicate child poverty as it surges under Cons and Labour