Tag: health

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Scottish Government’s earlier flu vaccine launch and wider free issue has resulted in 20% fewer cases as they continue to climb in NHS England

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Viral respiratory diseases in Scotland surveillance report published today: Influenza activity in Scotland has steadied or decreased in many systems, returning to medium activity overall based on reporting of laboratory-confirmed cases. Cases decreased by 20% to 1918 from 2410, and activity level dropped to high (from very high) in the 1-4 and 5-14 age groups. There were 912 hospital admissions due to influenza in week 50, down from 1039 in week 49.1 In NHS England: NHS England has released its latest figures now, covering last week up to 14 December. It says hospitals in England … Continue reading Scottish Government’s earlier flu vaccine launch and wider free issue has resulted in 20% fewer cases as they continue to climb in NHS England

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50% more children at risk of being overweight or obese in England than in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Primary 1 Body Mass Index (BMI) statistics Scotland School year 2024 to 2025, published yesterday, the above and: In school year 2024/25, 74% of Primary 1 children measured had a healthy weight, 24% were at risk of overweight or obesity and 1% were at risk of underweight. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/primary-1-body-mass-index-bmi-statistics-scotland/primary-1-body-mass-index-bmi-statistics-scotland-school-year-2024-to-2025 In England, in the same period only 63.2% had a healthy weight. 1.6% were at risk of being underweight thus 35.2% were at risk of being overweight or obesity: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/static-reports/obesity-physical-activity-nutrition/national-child-measurement-programme-2024-2025-academic-year.html Roughly then 50% more children at risk of being overweight or obese in England than in Scotland? … Continue reading 50% more children at risk of being overweight or obese in England than in Scotland

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Respect? Why Scotland’s resident doctors delayed their ballot until after the deadly flu season’s predicted peak

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Professor John Robertson OBA At least four of the above stories, including the resident doctor strike news, in the midst of a flu epidemic, concern only NHS England. BBC Scotland have no apparent health worries for us. Why no reporting? The Scottish Resident Doctors vote does not close until 19 December 2025 with strike action unlikely until January. Why have they delayed until this point? Flu cases tend to decline in early January, year after year. Why would the NHS England resident doctors not have delayed? This: See that ‘still?’ This goes back to earlier experience of the doctors and … Continue reading Respect? Why Scotland’s resident doctors delayed their ballot until after the deadly flu season’s predicted peak

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As NHS Scotland hits treatment targets for a year, what is the cause of a ‘child mental health emergency?’

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Professor John Robertson OBA I am, of course, not competent to evaluate the claims of the charity making them in the Herald above but I am, as are all of you, competent to ask why an apparent improvement in performance in the NHS services for them – CAMHS – now for a year, treating more than 90% of those children referred to it (7 500) in one quarter, within the 18 week target, 50% within only 3 weeks1, is now in a crisis mode when it was not in mid-2022 or in the years before? Where’s the expert, the ‘top … Continue reading As NHS Scotland hits treatment targets for a year, what is the cause of a ‘child mental health emergency?’

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Four times as many flu hospital admissions in NHS Scotland yet no risk of collapse here because of…more beds, more staff, cleaner wards and better vaccine strategy

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Guardian yesterday the above dramatic headline and: Wes Streeting has told resident doctors that strikes and a jump in flu cases over the Christmas period could be “the Jenga piece” that forces the NHS to collapse. The health secretary said the NHS faced a “challenge unlike any it has seen since the pandemic” and urged resident doctors to accept the government’s offer and end their action. He said: “The whole NHS team is working around the clock to keep the show on the road. But it’s an incredibly precarious situation. Christmas strikes could be the Jenga … Continue reading Four times as many flu hospital admissions in NHS Scotland yet no risk of collapse here because of…more beds, more staff, cleaner wards and better vaccine strategy

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NHS England asking hospitals to make patients wait longer and reduce the numbers they treat until the end of the financial year! Imagine that was in Scotland?

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today, the above and: Access to hospital treatments is being restricted in many areas of England as the NHS struggles to balance its books, the BBC has learnt. Regional health boards have ordered some hospitals to cut back on the number of patients they are seeing, meaning hundreds of thousands of patients could have to wait longer for treatment. NHS managers said they were between a “rock and a hard place” trying to juggle balancing the books with tackling the hospital backlog, which currently stands at 7.4 million. Reducing waits for things like … Continue reading NHS England asking hospitals to make patients wait longer and reduce the numbers they treat until the end of the financial year! Imagine that was in Scotland?

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Contrary to Jackie Baillie’s claims ‘SNP’ HAS been ‘ready for winter’ as flu-related hospital emissions begin to plateau and are contained within resources while NHS England’s still surge toward ‘worst case scenario’ in their less resilient system

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From NHS England yesterday: Flu hospitalisations have surged by more than half in just one week, plunging the NHS into a “worst case scenario” situation for December, new figures reveal today.  An average of 2,660 patients per day were in a hospital bed with flu last week – the highest ever for this time of year and up 55% up on last week.1 From Public Health Scotland, also yesterday: Influenza activity in Scotland increased at a more moderate pace in week 49, although the high activity threshold has now been reached, earlier than previous seasons. Case numbers increased by 24% … Continue reading Contrary to Jackie Baillie’s claims ‘SNP’ HAS been ‘ready for winter’ as flu-related hospital emissions begin to plateau and are contained within resources while NHS England’s still surge toward ‘worst case scenario’ in their less resilient system

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‘Scottish’ Daily Express front page claim on grooming gangs loophole applies ONLY in England where things are less strict

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John Robertson OBA The ‘Scottish’ Daily Express front page claim that ‘unregistered emergency carers are able to operate on a short-term basis with no regulatory oversight due to a legal anomaly might place children directly into the hands of predators‘ is in the Scottish context, a complete lie. The English edition makes that clear.1 A quick AI question gets an unambiguous response: In Scotland are unregistered emergency carers able to operate on a short term basis or is this a loophole only in England? No, in Scotland, unregistered emergency carers are not permitted to operate on a short-term basis—registration with … Continue reading ‘Scottish’ Daily Express front page claim on grooming gangs loophole applies ONLY in England where things are less strict

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NHS England’s high risk repair bill backlog is FIVE times greater per head than NHS Scotland

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By stewartb The Herald amplifying and elaborating upon – on its front page no less – Tory health spokesperson, Dr Gulhane’s sighting of buckets catching rainwater from a hospital’s leaking roof, presents a fine, cutting-edge example of the best of mainstream news media serving Scotland – doesn’t it? In its article The Herald reports: ‘Earlier this year, it was revealed that the NHS in Scotland has a high risk repair bill totalling £64,490,724.’ (As an aside, don’t you admire the journalist’s attention to detail here? Crucial to get that last £4 a mention!) Note that the c.£64.5m figure quoted is for … Continue reading NHS England’s high risk repair bill backlog is FIVE times greater per head than NHS Scotland

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SNP ordered separate NHS app because of need for Scotland’s better-funded, better-delivered and more integrated social care not for reasons given by Telegraph

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Daily Telegraph, 24 November 2025: SNP ministers decided to create their much-delayed Scottish NHS app from scratch after being warned against the “political optics of adopting” the existing English version. An assessment prepared for the Scottish Government on whether to “re-use” the English NHS app admitted that it was an “already usable and scalable digital platform”. It’s not clear who did the above assessment nor is it likely that the Telegraph is reporting all of it’s views give that they have missed a key factor – integration with social care services. Perhaps reflecting England’s failure to properly develop … Continue reading SNP ordered separate NHS app because of need for Scotland’s better-funded, better-delivered and more integrated social care not for reasons given by Telegraph