Tag: health

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Four times as many, per head, waiting for a social care assessment or package in England than in Scotland yet the latter is ‘struggling?’

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the amount of funding for struggling social care services. Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland in their BBC Breakfast insert this morning has the above, essentially just councils doing what they do, ask for more money from central government. Context? Nope and certainly not this: From People requiring a social care assessment and care at home services published today by Public Health Scotland: The number of people estimated to be waiting on a social care assessment for a package of care to enable them to live independently at home or in the community was 6,461 on 7 April 2025. The estimated number of people assessed … Continue reading Four times as many, per head, waiting for a social care assessment or package in England than in Scotland yet the latter is ‘struggling?’

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If you didn’t already have enough reasons NOT to vote for Scottish Labour how about this cancerous threat?

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Telegraph today, the above and: Ed Miliband has pledged to start immediate work on building new nuclear power stations in Scotland if the SNP is kicked out of office in next year’s Holyrood election. That’s a clear threat then. To what? First, increased child leukaemia: I asked the Elicit AI for scientific research which claims to help researchers be 10x more evidence-based: How dangerous is it to live 5km from a nuclear power station? After more than 5 minutes, it responded: Studies show mixed results on living within 5km of nuclear power plants, with some European research finding … Continue reading If you didn’t already have enough reasons NOT to vote for Scottish Labour how about this cancerous threat?

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More than 500 avoidable baby deaths implicated in reports across 14 NHS England maternity services but not one in Scotland – here’s why

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC West Yorkshire today: An independent inquiry into “repeated failures” at an NHS trust’s maternity units has been announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, following potentially avoidable harm to babies and mothers. Earlier this year a BBC investigation revealed that the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTH) over the past five years may have been prevented. Streeting said a thorough investigation was required to understand what had “gone so catastrophically wrong” at the trust’s maternity units at Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gpxnk9n4po … Continue reading More than 500 avoidable baby deaths implicated in reports across 14 NHS England maternity services but not one in Scotland – here’s why

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There is no evidence of public services in Wales being consistently better than those in Scotland – on the contrary

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By stewartb What’s so hard for opponents of the present Scottish Government (SG) to grasp? If public services in Scotland fall short or fail but the same ones in Wales are exemplary, then yes severe criticism of the SG may be valid. This would suggest that resource allocation under UK devolution settlements should be enough for Scotland to do at least as well as Wales. There is no evidence of public services in Wales being consistently better than those in Scotland – on the contrary. This should not be too hard to grasp but is it ignored because it runs counter to … Continue reading There is no evidence of public services in Wales being consistently better than those in Scotland – on the contrary

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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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Home visits in Dumfries and Galloway are being done much quicker, much sooner in the day, and therefore care gets started sooner, admissions to hospital get done faster, but that was quickly turned around to bad news just as research revealed they did over and over in 2014

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland‘s short insert in BBC Breakfast this morning: GPs are attending 45% fewer home visits in Dumfries and Galloway, after a trial scheme with the Scottish Ambulance Service. Paramedics can now attend routine home visits, after which they report back to GPs fro further action. It’s hope the scheme could be replicated in other rural areas. GP – ‘Historically you GP would do house calls at the end of the morning surgery or perhaps in the afternoon. But the busier we get, the later visits were getting done, so now the people are being … Continue reading Home visits in Dumfries and Galloway are being done much quicker, much sooner in the day, and therefore care gets started sooner, admissions to hospital get done faster, but that was quickly turned around to bad news just as research revealed they did over and over in 2014

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Scottish doctors’ branch union organiser lies about there being fewer GPs and ignores Scotland having 25% more of them to staff new SNP drop-in services

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Scottish Government today: A network of walk-in GP clinics will open as part of work to improve access to primary care. The clinics, which would be staffed by GPs, nurses and support staff, will be open seven days a week, 12:00-20:00, in addition to existing primary care services. They will provide a range of same-day assessments, diagnostics and treatment. Fifteen clinics in sites across Scotland will proceed initially to test the benefits for patients. https://www.gov.scot/news/improving-access-to-primary-care/ Typically for BBC Scotland but contrary to practice in BBC England or Wales, their reaction was: A leading doctor has … Continue reading Scottish doctors’ branch union organiser lies about there being fewer GPs and ignores Scotland having 25% more of them to staff new SNP drop-in services

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Could there be a simple positive reason for the reduction in the number of people accessing specialist alcohol and drugs treatment in Scotland – years of success in treatment programmes and Scot Gov success in initiatives on minimum pricing and opioid reversal kits?

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former opioid painkiller addict and ‘steady drinker‘ to this day From Public Health Scotland today: In Phase One of this investigation PHS conducted internal exploratory analysis to validate and describe changes in the numbers and characteristics of people accessing Tier 3 and 4 services between 2011/12 and 2021/22, using data from the Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy) and its predecessor, the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Waiting Times (DATWT) database. In Phase Two of this investigation, Public Health Scotland presents a national-level examination of the same data sources. This quantitative analysis presents national data shared with … Continue reading Could there be a simple positive reason for the reduction in the number of people accessing specialist alcohol and drugs treatment in Scotland – years of success in treatment programmes and Scot Gov success in initiatives on minimum pricing and opioid reversal kits?

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Sarwar Jr has the same grasp of medical science as RFK Jr before his conversion on measles vaccines and supports a criminal justice approach to drug abuse which does not reduce it and which carries significant harms for individuals and for all of us

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Professor John Robertson OBA Robert F Kennedy Jnr has at least had the intelligence to change his mind on measles vaccination but Sarwar Jr shows little sign of learning on drug abuse and regulation as he pursues populist, street-corner, theories in a vain attempt to undermine the SNP Conference and to come second in the 2026 Scottish election. In the Daily Record yesterday as the SNP Conference begins: Anas Sarwar says he does not support drug decriminalisation for personal use: The Scottish Labour leader said communities do not back “making it easier for people to get drugs and take drugs” … Continue reading Sarwar Jr has the same grasp of medical science as RFK Jr before his conversion on measles vaccines and supports a criminal justice approach to drug abuse which does not reduce it and which carries significant harms for individuals and for all of us

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Why is Reporting Scotland still headlining the three-day-old news of ‘hundreds’ of operations cancelled in one NHS board when it never tells us of the month after month 98% of thousands completed across the country?

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with faulty sterilising equipment that’s led to the cancellation of hundreds of operations, is fixed. Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland‘s insert in BBC Breakfast this morning opens with the above story. The BBC Scotland website and STV last mentioned it three days ago. They’re desperately milking a rare NHS Scotland ‘failure’ that they hope you will connect with the SNP Government in some way. They never report this good news based on figures that appear month after month: NHS Scotland was ready to complete 98% of operations in August 2025 despite steadily increasing demand From Public Health Scotland 7 October 2025: … Continue reading Why is Reporting Scotland still headlining the three-day-old news of ‘hundreds’ of operations cancelled in one NHS board when it never tells us of the month after month 98% of thousands completed across the country?