Tag: health

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STV and BBC let ‘campaigners’ use a survey of 0.002% of Scotland’s asthma sufferers to suggest asthma treatment is worse in the country where it’s clearly far, far better – Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland and STV have been platforming a survey of only 515 sufferers of Asthma in Scotland, to claim: Its 2025 survey Life With A Lung Condition, which questioned 515 asthma sufferers in Scotland, found only 30% of respondents were receiving basic asthma care, which the charity defined as having an annual asthma review, an inhaler technique check, and a written asthma plan. That is below the figure for the UK, where 32% of asthma sufferers receive this level of care. https://news.stv.tv/scotland/campaigners-call-for-fully-funded-lung-health-strategy-for-scotland As always, we are not told that this is, at most around 0.002% of … Continue reading STV and BBC let ‘campaigners’ use a survey of 0.002% of Scotland’s asthma sufferers to suggest asthma treatment is worse in the country where it’s clearly far, far better – Scotland

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Scotland gets first Patient Safety Commissioner three years after England and 18 years after a leading European expert said it was already ‘at the very top pillar with regards to patient safety’ 

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today: Scotland’s first ever Patient Safety Commissioner is set to be appointed. Experienced healthcare executive Karen Titchener will take up the role after two previous recruitment drives for the £93,094-a-year role failed. There has been a patient safety commissioner in England since 2022. The BBC Scotland report misses something quite important that the above Scottish Health Secretary put in place – see below. Never mind the facts on the ground in hospitals these 18 years, what does it look like to the media? You have to wonder just WTF England’s commissioner has been up … Continue reading Scotland gets first Patient Safety Commissioner three years after England and 18 years after a leading European expert said it was already ‘at the very top pillar with regards to patient safety’ 

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Royal College recommends NHS England’s A&E departments should adopt Scotland’s ‘front door frailty screening’

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By stewartb The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has a press release (issued May 6) which makes a positive reference to NHS Scotland – yes really! The statement has this title: ‘An alarming threat to patient safety’ – over a million older patients endured 12-hour waits in England’s A&Es last year.’ It goes on: ‘Figures obtained by RCEM via Freedom of Information Act requests, reveal in England’s major EDs last year, a staggering 1,148,666 people aged 60 and over waited more than 12 hours to be transferred, admitted or discharged. That’s over 3.5 times more people when compared to … Continue reading Royal College recommends NHS England’s A&E departments should adopt Scotland’s ‘front door frailty screening’

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Scotland beware – Right-wing Reform leader Farage wants to replace the NHS with a USA style “insurance based model”

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By JB Right-wing Reform leader Farage wants to replace the NHS with a USA style “insurance based model”. One of the many companies the multi-millionaire Farage owns, which was set up in May 2024, is called ‘Action on World Health LLP’. As “Co-founder and Chairman” Farage wants to reform or replace the World Health Organisation. One of its directors is also a director of a consultancy which advises, among other sectors, health care firms – “particularly mental and behavioural health”.  According to the hypocritical Labour Government Health Secretary Wes Streeting “Farage has been pushing healthcare charges to his supporters in … Continue reading Scotland beware – Right-wing Reform leader Farage wants to replace the NHS with a USA style “insurance based model”

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There is no evidence that ‘mothers and babies came to harm in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary’ but Reporting Scotland want you to think so despite NHS Scotland’s lower maternity death rate and better staffing

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland this morning claimed that mothers and babies came to harm in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary due to a toxic culture there, as they reported on an independent review. The review as reported by BBC Scotland on their website today, does not mention that claim at all: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3x6vy3lkeo The claim comes from a December 2024 internal review by Lothian Health board which BBC Scotland reported as only having this evidence: But staff say they fear the risks to patients remain. “We are afraid we can’t provide safe patient care and that women and babies are being … Continue reading There is no evidence that ‘mothers and babies came to harm in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary’ but Reporting Scotland want you to think so despite NHS Scotland’s lower maternity death rate and better staffing

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A life-extending prostate cancer drug being available for two years in Scotland but not yet in England is not the kind of thing Jackie Baillie wants you to know of

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The drug, abiraterone, has been available in Scotland and Wales for two years for high-risk patients whose cancer has not yet spread, but not in England and Northern Ireland. Liz S Jackie Baillie recent tweets: “A warm welcome from party members in Stornoway. If you want improved public services in our rural and island communities, we need a new direction with @scottishlabour“ “Thought-provoking conversation with the local community in Barra who are struggling to access healthcare. Next stop, Eriskay”. “The SNP’s stealth cuts have created a sinkhole under social care. It’s time for a new direction” “Our heroic ambulance workers are being failed. Scottish Labour will make fixing the NHS our number one priority” Then … Continue reading A life-extending prostate cancer drug being available for two years in Scotland but not yet in England is not the kind of thing Jackie Baillie wants you to know of

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Does Northern Scotland really have one of the highest rates of Huntington’s disease in the world?

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Yesterday we had: BBC Scotland and STV today have short reports on the higher level of Huntington’s disease in the North of Scotland but with no useful content to inform and to educate readers in the manner they often claim to do, leaving readers with just another ‘Scotland is ****’ story that they can quietly associate with 18 years of SNP-rule. In response today from JB: The above is based on a new study by the University of Aberdeen who state that… “The study, published in Neuroepidemiology, confirmed that Northern Scotland has one of the highest rates of Huntington’s disease in the … Continue reading Does Northern Scotland really have one of the highest rates of Huntington’s disease in the world?

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‘North Scotland among highest rates of Huntington’s’ – yes, but why?

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland and STV today have short reports on the higher level of Huntington’s disease in the North of Scotland but with no useful content to inform and to educate readers in the manner they often claim to do, leaving readers with just another ‘Scotland is ****’ story that they can quietly associate with 18 years of SNP-rule. When I saw this, I thought straightaway, vitamin D deficiency, as with MS, also more prevalent in the north. While as yet not conclusive, emerging evidence can be found: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are common in older … Continue reading ‘North Scotland among highest rates of Huntington’s’ – yes, but why?

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The deep irony of BBC Scotland talking about ‘hidden’ waiting lists when they routinely hide target-beating and lists much shorter than elsewhere in the UK

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, based on a feed from one psychiatrist and no actual figures, the above tasteless image and unsubstantiated headline. Let me be clear, as always, I’m not doubting the opinion of the medic here, but challenging the politicising of the unconfirmed data by BBC Scotland with a view to, always, implying failure by the Scottish, SNP, Government. In this report, BBC Scotland do credit the meeting of targets for children and adolescent’s mental heath care last month but when the data were first published on 4 March 2025, were quick to move on … Continue reading The deep irony of BBC Scotland talking about ‘hidden’ waiting lists when they routinely hide target-beating and lists much shorter than elsewhere in the UK

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Lisa Summers reporting NHS Scotland down as Unison talks it up

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Brenda Robb for alerting me tot his. In Nursing Times yesterday: The latest NHS pay offer in Scotland “sends a really powerful message” to other UK countries about what can be achieved through direct pay negotiations, Unison Scotland’s co-lead for health has said. Speaking with Nursing Times, Matt McLaughlin said other UK countries were “hiding behind bureaucracy” when it comes to NHS pay and it was “no good” for the health service. “In the other parts of the UK, it seems that people are hiding behind bureaucracy” Matt McLaughlin Scotland is the first UK … Continue reading Lisa Summers reporting NHS Scotland down as Unison talks it up