Tag: health

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SNP Government programme to protect the health of children and mothers leads to significant increases in all groups

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From Infant Feeding Statistics Scotland Financial Year 2023/24 An Accredited official statistics release for Scotland published on 12 November 2024, we can see that breastfeeding has almost doubled since 2007/2008 for the least deprived group but has increased significantly for all groups. The rationale for this scheme is clear: Breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for babies and young children and supports children’s health both in the short and longer term(1,2). There is strong evidence that breastfeeding reduces children’s risk of gut, chest, and ear infections and leads to a small but significant improvement in brain development and IQ(3,4). Growing evidence … Continue reading SNP Government programme to protect the health of children and mothers leads to significant increases in all groups

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BBC Scotland’s subtle attempt to mislead on cancer deaths

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This morning BBC Scotland, at 6:30am, report: Currently three out of five people with a group of cancers characterised as ‘less survivable die within a year of diagnosis. New analysis shows the average one-year for survival rate for this group of cancers, which includes lung, liver and brain cancer, is just 39% in Scotland. The overall cancer survival rates across the country show 71% are still alive after 12 months. I don’t know about you but I took that contrasting 39% in Scotland and 71% across the country to mean that the UK survival rate was 71% and the Scottish … Continue reading BBC Scotland’s subtle attempt to mislead on cancer deaths

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As UK Labour extend life of cracked Torness reactor near Edinburgh, ‘Where is the ‘mature debate’ about the health impacts of nuclear power?’

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From Dr Margaret Beavis, Australian academic and former GP, today: When it comes to nuclear radiation, there is a clear disconnect between the medical evidence and the views of the Coalition. Since the 1950s we have known there is a link between X-rays in pregnant women and leukemia and other cancers in their children. It is not for nothing there are signs in every radiology department asking if you are pregnant. The current shrill denunciations of potential health risks associated with nuclear power plants as a “scare campaign” may yet prove to be an own goal, as it has drawn … Continue reading As UK Labour extend life of cracked Torness reactor near Edinburgh, ‘Where is the ‘mature debate’ about the health impacts of nuclear power?’

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As NHS England under Labour and with increasing referrals, freezes radiologist hiring, NHS Scotland cuts diagnostic waiting times for third quarter in a row

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland on 24 November 2024, the above graph showing a reducing number waiting for diagnostic tests for the last three quarters, a steady fall since the peak in early 2022, and this for the quarter ending 30 September 2024 [most recent data]: When compared to the previous quarter-end, six of the eight key diagnostic tests saw a decrease in the number of ongoing waits reported. Waits for a CT scan showed a reduction of 11% (-3,104), colonoscopy waits reduced by 11% (-1,433), non-obstetric ultrasound reduced by 9% (-5,122), and MRI waits reduced by … Continue reading As NHS England under Labour and with increasing referrals, freezes radiologist hiring, NHS Scotland cuts diagnostic waiting times for third quarter in a row

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NHS Scotland coping with THREE TIMES as many flu cases as Scotland shivers under Labour UK fuel allowance cuts and price increases

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From BBC Health, this morning: There is deep concern at a senior level in the NHS about rising rates of flu. The number of patients in hospital with flu continues to climb, according to latest NHS figures in England. Last week, the numbers averaged 5,407 a day – up from just under 4,500 the week before. As we mentioned a moment ago, the numbers in hospital have risen again over the past week, with nearly 5,000 beds occupied on average last week by patients struggling with the virus. NHS England’s emergency care director Prof Julian Redhead says there are no … Continue reading NHS Scotland coping with THREE TIMES as many flu cases as Scotland shivers under Labour UK fuel allowance cuts and price increases

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Lib Dumbs have another go at making up the numbers to reveal police Scotland staff have well below UK level of absences for ‘psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, and stress’

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Today, on BBC Reporting Scotland, faithfully repeating what’s in 1919, an online mag with no peer-review and no standards of referencing, dedicated to representing uncritically the views of the police officers’ trade union and any opposition politician who will help them claim they’re hard done by, in Scotland: The number of working days lost to mental ill health in Police Scotland has surged by more than 50 per cent over the past five years. Since 2019, officers and staff have taken a total of 440,630 days off due to psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, and stress. The findings come amid … Continue reading Lib Dumbs have another go at making up the numbers to reveal police Scotland staff have well below UK level of absences for ‘psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, and stress’

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Researchers predict more than TWICE as many BBC Scotland staff than prisoners took drugs on Christmas Day

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From BBC Scotland today: Prisoners hospitalised after Christmas drug misuse – Five prisoners were taken to hospital on Christmas Day following widespread drug misuse at a Scottish prison. A total of 35 inmates at HMP Glenochil in Clackmannanshire were identified as being under the influence of drugs on 25 December, with five taken to hospital for treatment. Not in the BBC report: There are 670 prisoners in Glenochil, so less than 1% were hospitalised and 5% had taken ‘drugs’. In the quarter ending September 2024, 94.7% of the 357 prisoners referred for drug abuse problems were treated by NHS Scotland … Continue reading Researchers predict more than TWICE as many BBC Scotland staff than prisoners took drugs on Christmas Day

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Recent Oxford University research PROVES Labour’s privatised health strategy WILL lead to ‘worse patient care’

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By Professor John Robertson OBA An expansion of private healthcare is now a central strategy to cut waiting lists in England, from a party where many of its leaders, have received large donations from private healthcare firms, yet less than a year earlier Oxford University’s PROVED research UK Labour’s privatised health strategy WILL lead to ‘worse patient care.’ From Oxford University researchers reported in The Lancet, on 29 February 2024: A new review has concluded that hospitals that are privatised typically deliver worse quality care after converting from public ownership. The study, led by University of Oxford researchers, has been published in The Lancet Public … Continue reading Recent Oxford University research PROVES Labour’s privatised health strategy WILL lead to ‘worse patient care’

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NHS Scotland had 27% fewer delayed hospital discharges than NHS Wales after decades of Labour control there but Scottish Labour conveniently ignore that

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By stewartb More numbers designed to shock from the British Labour Party’s spokesperson on talking down Scotland’s health and social care services! Any context offered? The numbers on delayed discharge are to be deplored but are they really big by comparison to those incurred by Scotland’s peers? From the BBC News website, Wales section (November 11, 2024): ‘Staff burnout warning over plan to free NHS beds’ (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy5lqn19275o ) ‘At any one time, there are about 1,600 patients, mostly elderly, in hospital beds in Wales who are otherwise fit to be discharged. In some hospitals, this is 20% of all beds. ‘But delays around … Continue reading NHS Scotland had 27% fewer delayed hospital discharges than NHS Wales after decades of Labour control there but Scottish Labour conveniently ignore that

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Are Scottish doctors still likely to be less stressed than others in the UK? This survey will not tell us

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian yesterday: Seven in 10 GPs suffer from compassion fatigue and struggle to empathise with patients because they are worn out from caring for them, a survey has found. Family doctors say they are so emotionally and physically exhausted from hearing about patients’ problems and circumstances that it is compromising the quality of care they provide. A poll of 1,855 doctors across the UK found that 71% of GPs and 62% of medics overall have experienced compassion fatigue, which undermines the doctor-patient relationship. “Compassion fatigue is effectively a hidden, secondary trauma with symptoms that can ultimately make it … Continue reading Are Scottish doctors still likely to be less stressed than others in the UK? This survey will not tell us