Tag: food

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Scotland’s IVF service – target-busting for 11 years saving lives and reducing NHS costs as NHS England prices people out of becoming parents

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From IVF waiting times in Scotland Quarter ending 31 March 2026 published today: During the quarter ending 31 March 2026, 373 patients were screened. The 90% standard was met, with all patients attending a screening appointment within 52 weeks of referral. Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/ivf-waiting-times-in-scotland/ivf-waiting-times-in-scotland-quarter-ending-31-march-2026/ In November 2019, I could write: The four IVF centres in Scotland screened 370 eligible patients, compared with 290 in the previous quarter. In all four centres, 100% of patients were screened for IVF treatment within 365 days. The 90% standard continues to be met [beaten] since it was first measured in March 2015. Click to access … Continue reading Scotland’s IVF service – target-busting for 11 years saving lives and reducing NHS costs as NHS England prices people out of becoming parents

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NHS England has 23% fewer beds and too high occupancy and we know how that turns out in a pandemic

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From Acute hospital activity and NHS beds information (quarterly) Quarter ending 31 December 2025 published today: There were on average 13,550 available staffed beds per day for all acute specialties in the quarter ending 31 December 2025 – a 0.1% decrease compared to the same quarter in the previous year. An available staffed bed is a bed which is resourced for inpatient or day case care. Of these, 9,604 (71%) were for medical specialties and 3,946 (29%) were for surgical specialties. These percentages are unchanged from the same quarter in 2024. For all acute specialties in the quarter ending 31 … Continue reading NHS England has 23% fewer beds and too high occupancy and we know how that turns out in a pandemic

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Shocking latest US research finds 80 000 unnecessary breast and other cancers near nuclear power stations to further condemn Scottish Labour’s energy strategy

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From A national analysis of the impact of proximity to nuclear power plants on lung, breast and colon cancer mortalities in the U.S., 2000–2020 in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology [5.5 impact factor- which is good to strong for a science journal] published yesterday: Results Proximity to nuclear power plants was associated with elevated mortality from breast, colon, and lung cancers. From 2000 to 2020, an estimated 39,767 female deaths (95% CI: 9312–69,381), representing 2.01% (95% CI: 0.47–3.50%), and 38,124 male deaths (95% CI: 16,106–59,600), representing 2.33% (95% CI: 0.98–3.64%), were attributable to this proximity. Lung cancer … Continue reading Shocking latest US research finds 80 000 unnecessary breast and other cancers near nuclear power stations to further condemn Scottish Labour’s energy strategy

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Newborn health at real risk near nuclear plants but Scottish Labour double down on new plants in Scotland

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The Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) is located near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California, on approximately 1,000 acres along the Pacific coast. It is the state’s largest single power station and the only operational nuclear plant in California following the 2013 closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. From the Santa Barbara Independent, yesterday: Just weeks after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved a 20-year license extension for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, scrutiny surrounding the human health impacts from radiation have emerged from both academia and Diablo opponents. A recent Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analysis found higher cancer mortality rates in U.S. counties located closer to nuclear plants, while a nonprofit-led report questioned whether decades of Diablo Canyon’s operation may be tied to worsening infant health in surrounding San Luis Obispo County. Federal regulators and health officials, however, maintain that radiation exposure from the plant … Continue reading Newborn health at real risk near nuclear plants but Scottish Labour double down on new plants in Scotland

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Interfering with democratic principles just before an election – BBC Scotland repeats ‘too-soon’ evaluation of new GP walk-in clinics just to let opposition, with no evidence on these presented, campaign free-of-charge

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BBC Scotland’s Andrew Picken, yesterday, had: One of the new flagship GP walk-in clinics has seen just 183 patients in its first five weeks, latest figures shows. The facility at Lochee Health Centre in Dundee is part of a network of clinics planned by the Scottish government where patients have access to GP-led care without an appointment. Data released to the BBC under freedom of information laws shows that in the five weeks to 30 April, the Dundee clinic – which is open every day between 12:00 and 20:00 – had 183 people attend. then only 5 paragraphs later: But the walk-in … Continue reading Interfering with democratic principles just before an election – BBC Scotland repeats ‘too-soon’ evaluation of new GP walk-in clinics just to let opposition, with no evidence on these presented, campaign free-of-charge

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UK Government ‘austerity’ measures the key driver of Scotland’s falling life expectancy in good health and Labour will do nothing to reverse it

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The Herald today has: The graph above from the BMJ in 2022 puts the trend in an historical perspective, revealing that expected life expectancy in ‘good health’ remains significantly higher than it was 30 years ago. The Herald report surprisingly, or not, dies not seem to have looked at the work of Glasgow University researchers led by David Walsh in 2022, which found Concerning changes in mortality and life expectancy trends have been observed across the UK since the early 2010: a ‘stalling’ of previous improvements alongside worsening trends among more deprived populations. Although the causes are still debated in … Continue reading UK Government ‘austerity’ measures the key driver of Scotland’s falling life expectancy in good health and Labour will do nothing to reverse it

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John Swinney helping those struggling with the cost of eating is not ‘communist’ but BBC Scotland’s Peter Smith is either thick or just another right-wing extremist – here’s why

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The essential MSM Monitor captured the above astonishing claim yesterday. This claim is nonsense. Communism requires the abolition of private property, elimination of the profit motive, central planning of the whole economy including actual ownership of the supermarkets. Swinney is merely telling the massively profitable supermarket chains to absorb some of the costs. In Imperial Rome, a slave based market economy, it often capped food prices.1 Medieval England, a feudal system identified by Karl Marx as utterly different from his ideas, often regulated bread and grain prices.2 During World War II, all of the allies, including the US and the … Continue reading John Swinney helping those struggling with the cost of eating is not ‘communist’ but BBC Scotland’s Peter Smith is either thick or just another right-wing extremist – here’s why

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‘115,000 cancer deaths [especially among older adults] in 8 years: What a new [US] study suggests about nuclear power plants’

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I’ve reported on this major US study, several times before but it remains at the centre of US debate as it’s findings spread across the vastness of the US when plans for new or recommissioned nuclear plants enter local media. UK media have, to my knowledge, never acknowledged this gold standard research, fearful of its potential impact on the current Labour government’s plans. From the New Hampshire Union Leader, yesterday: Older adults who live in U.S. counties that are closer to operating nuclear power plants may have a greater risk of dying from cancer, according to a new study led … Continue reading ‘115,000 cancer deaths [especially among older adults] in 8 years: What a new [US] study suggests about nuclear power plants’

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‘An unannounced inspection by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) has praised maternity services at Victoria Hospital, NHS Fife, for delivering compassionate, person-centred care’

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By stewartb ‘Maternity Services in Kirkcaldy not being ‘up to standard.’ – surely such BBC Scotland negativity CANNOT be about maternity services at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy? From the NHS Fife website today, 19 March: ‘An unannounced inspection by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) has praised maternity services at Victoria Hospital, NHS Fife, for delivering compassionate, person-centred care. The inspection, carried out in December 2025, highlighted strong multidisciplinary teamwork, visible senior leadership, and highly positive feedback from women and families using the service.’ From the actual report: Healthcare Improvement Scotland (March 19, 2026) Unannounced Inspection Report Maternity Services Safe Delivery of Care Inspection … Continue reading ‘An unannounced inspection by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) has praised maternity services at Victoria Hospital, NHS Fife, for delivering compassionate, person-centred care’

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Major reduction in hospital delayed discharge times

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From Delayed discharges in NHS Scotland monthly Figures for January 2026 published yesterday: The average (median) length of delay for people delayed at the January 2026 census was 23 days. This is less than as at the census point in December 2025 (28 days), November 2025 (27 days) and October 2025 (29 days). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly/delayed-discharges-in-nhs-scotland-monthly-figures-for-january-2026/main-points/ How important is this kind of information, 20% reduction in median, for NHS Scotland? Short-term trend improvement — A drop from 28–29 days median … Continue reading Major reduction in hospital delayed discharge times