Tag: health

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NHS Scotland cancer treatment facing massive increase in referrals since pandemic yet performing better than then and saving thousands who would have been delayed in NHS England

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From Cancer waiting times 1 January to 31 March 2026 published today: There were 4,668 eligible referrals where the 62-day standard applied, a decrease of 2.7% from the previous quarter, but an increase of 25.4% from the quarter ending 31 December 2019, the last full quarter pre‑pandemic. 72.2% of patients started treatment within 62 days, compared with 72.6% in the previous quarter. There were 7,225 eligible referrals where the 31-day standard applied, a decrease of 2.0% from the previous quarter, but an increase of 13.1% from the quarter ending 31 December 2019. 94.5% of patients started treatment within 31 days, … Continue reading NHS Scotland cancer treatment facing massive increase in referrals since pandemic yet performing better than then and saving thousands who would have been delayed in NHS England

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Will the Scottish Labour MPs protest the tax breaks for the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS England contracts, meaning you and I pay at least three times the rate and which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

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From Open Democracy yesterday: Palantir is benefiting from millions of pounds of tax deductions that allow it to pay very little corporate tax in the United Kingdom despite soaring profits, an investigation by openDemocracy reveals. The controversial tech firm has won at least £670m in UK public contracts in recent years, which have helped to make the country its second-largest market by revenue after the United States, where it is headquartered. Yet despite accounting for 10% of the company’s global revenue last year, its tax payments in the UK amounted to less than 5% of its total global cash tax spend, according … Continue reading Will the Scottish Labour MPs protest the tax breaks for the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS England contracts, meaning you and I pay at least three times the rate and which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

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Scotland’s football decline attributed by researchers to loss of balance, rhythm, coordination, agility, and partner awareness in years after Scottish country dancing faded from school curriculum

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It’s been suggested by leading Ayrshire academic dancer, Gavin Ochiltree, that: ‘Scotland’s football went backwards when Scottish country/highland dancing was done away with in schools. Balance and fleetness of foot were what gave us the edge when we had decent Scottish football teams.’ Is there evidence to support this? Scottish country dancing involves precise footwork, quick changes of direction, balance, rhythm, coordination, agility, and partner awareness in a group setting. These overlap with football demands (dribbling, turning, stability, spatial awareness). Highland dancing emphasizes explosive power, balance, and control. Dance training (including ballet or similar) is used by some modern athletes … Continue reading Scotland’s football decline attributed by researchers to loss of balance, rhythm, coordination, agility, and partner awareness in years after Scottish country dancing faded from school curriculum

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Scotland’s ambulances between 2 and 3 tines faster thousands of times but Daily Record finds one case to report

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There are some minor problems in comparing the data for England and Scotland but you can be sure that were they to favour the former, they’d be widely reported. Here’s why they’re not: In January 2024, BBC UK made direct comparison possible: Via the BBC’s How long do patients wait for an ambulance? app, we can confirm that the average waiting time for a Scottish ambulance was 8 min and 46 secs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59549800 Also, from BBC UK on 14 December 2023: Average response times of more than 38 minutes for category two emergency calls such as heart attacks and strokes – above the target time … Continue reading Scotland’s ambulances between 2 and 3 tines faster thousands of times but Daily Record finds one case to report

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England’s first full investigation into maternity service failures publishing today will reveal such horror that their police investigation being labelled ‘Operation Perth’ shocks investigation-free NHS Scotland

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Absent entirely from UK newspaper front pages today but featured in TV news broadcasts, the above story anticipates a report into maternity services in Nottingham which will be frankly horrific and which police locally have strangely labelled their investigation into criminality, ‘Operation Perth’: The largest maternity review in the history of the NHS – which is expected to detail widespread failings that led to the deaths of babies and avoidable harm – will be published later. About 2,500 families and more than 800 staff members have contributed to the review into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, which began in … Continue reading England’s first full investigation into maternity service failures publishing today will reveal such horror that their police investigation being labelled ‘Operation Perth’ shocks investigation-free NHS Scotland

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Reconviction Rates in Scotland fall to tiny percentage per head of those in England and Wales due to twice as many ‘probation officers’

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From Reconviction Rates in Scotland: 2022 to 2023 Offender Cohort, published today: Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/reconviction-rates-in-scotland-2022-2023-cohort/ What might account for this? There are currently 5 576 ‘band 4’ probation officers in England.2 Scotland does not have “probation officers” as a distinct role. The equivalent is Justice Social Workers (also called criminal justice social workers), who are qualified social workers employed mainly by the 32 local authorities. Per head of population, you might expect that Scotland would have around 560 of these but has 1 174 up from 950 the year before.3 Scotland has twice as many! How does this play out in terms of … Continue reading Reconviction Rates in Scotland fall to tiny percentage per head of those in England and Wales due to twice as many ‘probation officers’

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The real drug gangs plague in Scotland – Media still keeping quiet on drug gang origins in England

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Images – Police Scotland Forget the Daniels and Lyons Scottish drug gangsters so beloved of the media operating in Scotland. They’re at a global level. They’re not dealing to your kids. This lot are, in a hundred locations from Thurso to Dumfries. From BBC Scotland: NE, Orkney & Shetland, yesterday: Eight men have been arrested and charged after police in Aberdeen seized drugs with a street value of more than £1.37m.Officers targeted 11 addresses across the city on Monday and Tuesday and discovered eight cannabis cultivations. The men, aged between 24 and 54, were due to appear before Aberdeen Sheriff … Continue reading The real drug gangs plague in Scotland – Media still keeping quiet on drug gang origins in England

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Scotland’s pharmacy scheme ‘the model for England’ may reduce shortages problems

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In the Guardian today: Britons [sic] are facing some of the “most severe” shortages of NHS medicines on record including common painkillers, epilepsy drugs and HRT, health leaders have warned, even forcing some patients with impaired digestive systems to skip meals. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned that medicine shortages pose a “serious risk to patient safety”. The Royal College of GPs has also raised concerns about the impact medicine shortages have on patients, GPs and pharmacists. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/18/nhs-patients-face-worst-drug-shortages-on-record-say-pharmacists-and-gps BBC Breakfast 29 May 2026 told us the Scottish Government has long put in place a better model for pharmacies, repeatedly covered here but never in the … Continue reading Scotland’s pharmacy scheme ‘the model for England’ may reduce shortages problems

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On by-election day BBC Scotland ask Scottish Government to comment on a survey of Scottish radiology heads’ opinions despite hard evidence of diagnostic waits plummeting and to far below those in NHS England

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for patients across Scotland, according to the Royal College of Radiologists. 60% of cancer centre and radiology department leaders who responded to their report said that staff shortages are causing patients’ conditions to worsen. The president of the Royal College said the findings should be causing alarm bells. The above story is another direct feed to Reporting Scotland, not being covered in greater detail elsewhere, not even on the BBC Scotland website. The Health Secretary is contacted and expected to respond to what is a partial, self-selecting, survey of opinion and not actual performance statistics. Here are some facts: 1. … Continue reading On by-election day BBC Scotland ask Scottish Government to comment on a survey of Scottish radiology heads’ opinions despite hard evidence of diagnostic waits plummeting and to far below those in NHS England

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Where it counts, NHS Grampian is not ‘troubled’

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BBC Scotland, in their BBC Breakfast insert today, making much of NHS Grampian as ‘troubled‘, misses these key statistics below. The Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio is a reliable measure of the extent to which a hospital is operating normally and safely. The large Aberdeen Royal is only 0.04% above the Scottish average of 1. Smaller hospitals can have less predictable figures but, again Dr Gray’s is within the normal, safe, range shown below: From Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios January 2025 to December 2025 published today, the above chart and: No hospitals [including those of NHS Grampian] had a significantly higher standardised mortality ratio … Continue reading Where it counts, NHS Grampian is not ‘troubled’