Tag: health

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The causes of healthy life expectancy falling – Scotland already has far more, per head of population, GPs, nurses, midwives and other professionals than other parts of the UK so maybe look at this?

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The Herald today has: Scotland already has far more, per head of population, GPs, nurses, midwives and other professionals than other parts of the UK (table above, sources below) so Prof Cameron’s theory seems a little thin, simplistic. Here’s another explanation but one of course which cannot be laid at the door of the SNP Government’s limited devolved powers. The major rise in processed/UPF availability and reliance began decades earlier (1980s–2000s), becoming entrenched by the 2010s. This long-term poor diet quality (cumulative effects on obesity, inflammation, mental health, and chronic conditions) helps explain why health gains from medical advances stalled … Continue reading The causes of healthy life expectancy falling – Scotland already has far more, per head of population, GPs, nurses, midwives and other professionals than other parts of the UK so maybe look at this?

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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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Measles crisis – why Scotland needs border control

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In the Guardian today, the above and: In 2024, a measles epidemic tore through this community and left one unvaccinated toddler dead. “As long as vaccination rates remain low, it’s a powder keg,” says Csabai. “Once an epidemic starts, it is already too late to vaccinate. We need to act now.” Romania is facing the worst measles crisis in the EU. The country has had four epidemics of the illness since 2005, each separated by only a few years of fragile calm. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/romania-eu-measles-cases-vaccination-rates-collapse Around 40 000 people per day fly out of Romania to other parts of Europe, 5 000 … Continue reading Measles crisis – why Scotland needs border control

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The UK government must publish a detailed impact assessment of the costs and benefits of the US-UK medicines partnership

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stewartb Seems like another example of a potentially damaging policy in a critically important area impacting Scotland implemented not only as a result of a Westminster government’s decision but one made through secondary legislation and therefore without recourse to Westminster parliamentary scrutiny. Another example of the quality of Scotland in Union’s democracy! From the British Medical Journal (April 17, 2026) ‘Opinion: The UK government must publish a detailed impact assessment of the costs and benefits of the US-UK medicines partnership‘. ‘On the eve of the Easter bank holiday weekend, the UK government finally published the full text of its deal with … Continue reading The UK government must publish a detailed impact assessment of the costs and benefits of the US-UK medicines partnership

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Will Anas Sarwar be asked about Starmer’s ‘disastrous’ pharma deal with the US that could cots Scotland £6bn and 30 000 deaths

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting us to this: From the Canary fact checker yesterday: Keir Starmer’s disastrous trade deal with Trump for US pharmaceuticals may end up costing the UK £64bn. That’s massively over the £1bn estimate that the government itself gave to the public. Worse still, the money diverted from other NHS services may cost hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decade. That’s according to explosive reporting from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The Bureau, in turn, used economic modelling from a team at the University of York, lead by professor Karl Claxton. This professor previously sat on the appraisal committee for the the National Institute for … Continue reading Will Anas Sarwar be asked about Starmer’s ‘disastrous’ pharma deal with the US that could cots Scotland £6bn and 30 000 deaths

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Have the Scottish Labour MPs joined the campaign against the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS contracts which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

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In the Guardian today: MPs have queued up to demand the government scraps its £330m NHS contract with the spy-tech company Palantir, calling it “dreadful” and “shameful” in a debate on Thursday, after which the government said it was “no fan” of the US company’s politics. Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs led the calls for Palantir, which also works for Donald Trump’s ICE immigration crackdown and the Israeli military, to be removed as a supplier to the NHS federated data platform (FDP), with one Labour backbencher, Samantha Niblett, questioning whether it could be “trusted as a custodian of the intimate health records of … Continue reading Have the Scottish Labour MPs joined the campaign against the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS contracts which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

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East Tennessee cancer victims living ‘in the shadow’ of nuclear sites to be compensated despite having far lower rates and deaths than Scots living ‘in the shadow’ of Sellafield only 43 miles away, upwind and upstream, across the border with England

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From 6 News in Tennessee, USA, yesterday: For decades, communities in Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties have lived in the shadow of nuclear sites, now, help is finally here for those impacted. A federal program has come to East Tennessee, offering compensation to people diagnosed with cancer linked to radiation exposure. Watch the video in full at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euLZm6uyPsQ Why this area? From the Tennessee Environmental Council: Most Tennesseans think of Oak Ridge when radioactive issues are mentioned, but Tennessee is actually a major player when it comes to disposing of radioactive waste, with processors across the state: Up to 75% … Continue reading East Tennessee cancer victims living ‘in the shadow’ of nuclear sites to be compensated despite having far lower rates and deaths than Scots living ‘in the shadow’ of Sellafield only 43 miles away, upwind and upstream, across the border with England

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A Labour Government agrees to compensate those infected by blood products from US prisons approved by another Labour Government in 1976, and despite warnings from their own Health Secretary. The Labour Scottish Secretary was there failing to protect us

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Today, the Guardian has: Compensation payments will rise for people affected by the infected blood scandal, including an extra £35,000 each for former pupils who were experimented on at school without their knowledge, the paymaster general has announced. The government has allocated £1bn for the payments. The final report of the inquiry into what has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history was published in May 2024. The compensation scheme that followed has also been blighted by controversy. People who were infected, and their relatives, had complained about delays, qualifying criteria, the size of payments and the complex application process. Among … Continue reading A Labour Government agrees to compensate those infected by blood products from US prisons approved by another Labour Government in 1976, and despite warnings from their own Health Secretary. The Labour Scottish Secretary was there failing to protect us

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Why is Crisis Scotland being so fulsome in its praise for a 2040 Scottish Labour aspiration 14 years after this election?

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By stewartb Governing with devolved powers, how might Crisis Scotland and others judge the credentials of the British Labour Party in Scotland when (supposedly) setting ‘a new standard of aspiration’ and a pledge ‘to end homelessness by 2040′? What about the Party’s actual delivery in government rather than its aspiration for 14 years’ hence? From Crisis (10 April,, 2025): The Homelessness Monitor: Wales 2025. ‘This fifth Wales-focused Monitor report takes a look at where homelessness stands in Wales, focusing particularly on the implementation of the Ending Homelessness in Wales High Level Action Plan, including planned extensive legal reforms, as well as the ongoing impacts … Continue reading Why is Crisis Scotland being so fulsome in its praise for a 2040 Scottish Labour aspiration 14 years after this election?

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How actual facts prove there is no two-tier health system in Scotland contrary the three wee anecdotes set up for the Unionist leaders

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In the last three weeks I know of someone who is 83rd in the list of seeing a doctor in accident and emergency. There were 83 patients before them and they had to wait ten hours to be seen. I know someone who has waited over two and a half years to get an audiology test. Driven towards paying £1800 to buy from a high street store. Within four days, they had their hearing aids. We also know of someone who has been on a waiting list, we keep talking about bringing them down, the Scottish nationalist party (sic) they … Continue reading How actual facts prove there is no two-tier health system in Scotland contrary the three wee anecdotes set up for the Unionist leaders