Tag: health

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Nearly THREE times as many emergency patients per capita wait 12 hours or more in NHS England than in NHS Scotland

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By stewartb Campaign against austerity needed to push Westminster to support the NHS in England, NI and Wales even to match the A&E waiting times performance in Scotland – for the sake of all patients across the UK. The RCEM is an active campaigner in the cause of NHS staff and patients involved with NHS emergency services across the UK. It responds frequently to the release of official waiting times performance statistics by issuing press statements. The RCEM is especially ‘diligent’ and especially hard-hitting politically when responding to the situation in Scotland. Moreover, it seems to be accorded an especially … Continue reading Nearly THREE times as many emergency patients per capita wait 12 hours or more in NHS England than in NHS Scotland

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Breastfeeding more common for first time as Scottish Government’s most progressive and well-funded promotion programme in the UK pays-off

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Infant feeding statistics Financial year 2024 to 2025, published today, the above momentous graph and: Supporting breastfeeding is an important public health activity, with strong evidence that breastfeeding protects the health of children and mothers. The information is collected at Health Visitor reviews of children at 10-14 days (First Visit), 6-8 weeks, and 13-15 months of age. Main points There have been notable increases in breastfeeding – 69% of babies reviewed in Scotland in 2024/25 were breastfed for at least some time after their birth, compared with 63% in 2016/17. In 2024/25, and for the first time … Continue reading Breastfeeding more common for first time as Scottish Government’s most progressive and well-funded promotion programme in the UK pays-off

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FIVE years of success in turning Scotland’s drug deaths trend around, the reasons for that and the reasons it’s not even better than that

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Professor John Robertson OBA This is simply untrue. The drug deaths trend in Scotland has been downward for these last five years, from 1 339 in 2020 to 1 017. A 24.2% fall, by a quarter in only 5 years after more than 20 years of increasing, is very significant and suggests a successful strategy by government, which I’ll return to. Here is the evidence in two graphs, for 2020 and 2025 from Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024, published on 2 September 2025: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland-2024/ The full NRS report contains further evidence that this is a confirmed downward trend and notably … Continue reading FIVE years of success in turning Scotland’s drug deaths trend around, the reasons for that and the reasons it’s not even better than that

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Scottish Government significantly widened access to free flu vaccine to give more than twice as many, per capita, protection from worrying new mutation

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today and being broadcast widely and frequently, the above and: Flu strikes every winter, but this year something seems to be different. A seasonal flu virus suddenly mutated in the summer. It appears to evade some of our immunity, has kick-started a flu season more than a month early, and is a type of flu that history suggests is more severe. The NHS has now issued a “flu jab SOS” as fears grow that this will add up to a brutal winter. There is a lot of nuance and uncertainty, but leading flu … Continue reading Scottish Government significantly widened access to free flu vaccine to give more than twice as many, per capita, protection from worrying new mutation

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NHS England threaten longer waiting lists, already quarter of million longer than in Scotland and to ration care – Imagine that was in Ayrshire?

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waiting list and more than 10 000 of them have waited over a year. Professor John Robertson OBA UK Labour MP, Elaine Stewart, is outside her local hospital to shout about the length of the waiting list. There is no single “waiting list” for the entire board. Lists are made up of sub-lists from each department. I’m not able to comment. If you are a constituent, you might like to write and ask her. What I do know is: NHS England threaten longer waiting lists, already quarter of million longer than in Scotland and to ration care – Imagine that … Continue reading NHS England threaten longer waiting lists, already quarter of million longer than in Scotland and to ration care – Imagine that was in Ayrshire?

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Ayrshire Labour MP fails to understand that health board debt to the Scottish Government is not like English health trusts in debt to rapacious private corporations did she?

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is now in £130 million debt, the highest in Scotland. Professor John Robertson OBA How worrying is the above debt? Not at all. From Every Doctor, the above and: The NHS is haemorrhaging billions to private companies through Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts at a time when the health service desperately needs investment in staff and infrastructure. An EveryDoctor investigation has uncovered that 69 NHS trusts in England are locked into paying more than £21.1bn to private companies over the next two decades – money that could be spent on doctors, healthcare staff, patients, and critical repairs. The total spent on PFI debt … Continue reading Ayrshire Labour MP fails to understand that health board debt to the Scottish Government is not like English health trusts in debt to rapacious private corporations did she?

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99% of drug and alcohol patients seen in 3 weeks, 99% of children and adolescents with mental health problems seen on time and 98% of cancer patients begin treatment within 31 days but local Labour MP prefers you don’t know that

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being missed. Professor John Robertson OBA UK Labour’s Elaine Stewart outside her local hospital to shout about supposed failures, demoralising passing staff again and being carefully selective about what locals should know. There are two cancer treatment targets. The 62-day standard states that 95% of eligible patients should wait no longer than 62 days from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first cancer treatment.  Only one Scottish NHS board meets that target. This is the longer of the two targets presumably for good reason. The shorter target, the 31-day standard, states that 95% of eligible patients should wait no longer … Continue reading 99% of drug and alcohol patients seen in 3 weeks, 99% of children and adolescents with mental health problems seen on time and 98% of cancer patients begin treatment within 31 days but local Labour MP prefers you don’t know that

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Disgusting Daily Record politicises one baby death to malign Scotland’s maternity service, the best in Britain

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Record today with another single case of supposed NHS failure then generalised and politicised to mislead readers and viewers. This representation of Scotland’s maternity services, clearly politicising a tragic issue with disinformation for political purposes, ie weakening the SNP vote in 2026, is disgusting. It could not be more inaccurate. Stillbirth and Neonatal Mortality First, the stillbirth rate in Scotland, England and Wales is 3.5 per 1 000 total births, 3.8 and 4.4(!).1, 2 Germany is 3.7. This reflects Scotland’s lower child poverty, more social housing, free prescriptions, lower rents and cleaner hospitals after Nicola Sturgeon kept … Continue reading Disgusting Daily Record politicises one baby death to malign Scotland’s maternity service, the best in Britain

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No major flu deaths surge expected in Scotland after 80% vaccine uptake and in cleaner hospitals

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Professor John Robertson OBA The above is from the Over 5 million under 65s with a long-term health condition could miss out flu vaccine reported in the Mirror yesterday. From: Less than a third (28.9%) of people with one or more long-term health conditions (LTHCs) have had a flu vaccine. 9 million aged under 65’s in clinical risk groups are eligible but just 40% vaccinated last year (2024 to 25) – leaving over 5 million missing out and unprotected. Uptake of the flu vaccine in older adults, aged 65 and over, is higher – 61.5% this year to date; and … Continue reading No major flu deaths surge expected in Scotland after 80% vaccine uptake and in cleaner hospitals

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‘The scale of challenge facing the NHS [England] today and foreseeable in the years ahead is unprecedented.’ 

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By stewartb The Scotland page of the BBC News website has this headline (November 4): ‘Health board facing ‘unprecedented’ financial challenges, auditors warn.’ The article – the same story as covered by the Daily Record – outlines Audit Scotland’s reporting of the financial problems being experienced by Grampian and by Ayrshire & Arran health boards. Never slow to provide quotable comments, we get the views of Scottish Tory health spokesman, Dr Sandesh Gulhane: ’.. the reports were symptomatic of problems facing the NHS across Scotland’. And a quote: “It’s appalling that health boards have been driven into crippling debt and are reliant on huge bailouts … Continue reading ‘The scale of challenge facing the NHS [England] today and foreseeable in the years ahead is unprecedented.’