Tag: health

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Scotland’s drug and alcohol services both hitting 90% seen with 3 weeks target, year after year, but that’s not relevant because we’ve one group to criticise the Scottish Government on them

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that’s according to ‘Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems’. The organisation says both that both issues are important but that recent political focus has been on trying to reduce drug deaths without the same attention to alcohol. A ministerial statement will be made later on how to improve the lives of people impacted by drugs and alcohol. The Scottish Government continues to do all it can on the issue. By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Reporting Scotland staff with another report linking the SNP Government with problems which are the direct responsibility of health boards. What is the actual evidence of … Continue reading Scotland’s drug and alcohol services both hitting 90% seen with 3 weeks target, year after year, but that’s not relevant because we’ve one group to criticise the Scottish Government on them

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The two-child benefit cap:  will it prove an ethical dilemma for Kirsty McNeill MP, Labour’s new Under Secretary of State for Scotland and former Director of Save the Children?

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By stewartb One of the most conspicuous examples of a Labour MP shifting their stance on the urgency of reducing child poverty – specifically on the urgency of abolishing the two-child benefit cap – must surely be that of Kirsty McNeill, the new member of parliament for Midlothian and significantly, the Under Secretary of State for Scotland. Prior to being elected, Ms McNeill was Executive Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Save the Children. In reading what follows, bear in mind Ms McNeill’s job title with this major charity operating in the UK and internationally – note ‘policy’, note … Continue reading The two-child benefit cap:  will it prove an ethical dilemma for Kirsty McNeill MP, Labour’s new Under Secretary of State for Scotland and former Director of Save the Children?

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Wheesht –  don’t report this! Proportion of IVF cycles funded by NHS:  Scotland (53%), Wales (34%), England (24%)

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By stewartb The Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK’s independent regulator of fertility treatment and research using human embryos, has just (July 18) published this report: ‘Fertility treatment 2022: preliminary trends and figures – preliminary UK statistics for IVF and DI treatment, storage, and donation.’ (https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/publications/research-and-data/fertility-treatment-2022-preliminary-trends-and-figures/ ) The findings were the subject of a BBC Radio 4 Today programme item and they are covered in an article on the BBC News website under the headline ‘Fall in proportion of IVF cycles funded by NHS’. Both the Today programme and the BBC News website focus on the UK statistics … Continue reading Wheesht –  don’t report this! Proportion of IVF cycles funded by NHS:  Scotland (53%), Wales (34%), England (24%)

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Diagnostic tests waiting list in NHS England soars after strikes to 15% longer as it falls in Scotland thanks to Humza settling dispute

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From the Guardian today: The waiting lists for diagnostic tests, including cancer scans, is at a record high in NHS England, with doctors warning of a “staggering shortfall” of clinical radiologists. Figures published on Thursday reveal the diagnostic waiting list stands at 1,658,221 – twice what it was 10 years ago.  https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/14/staggering-shortfall-of-nhs-staff-as-record-number-of-patients-wait-for-tests From Public Health Scotland, on 27 February 2024: The total waiting list size (number of ongoing waits) for the eight key tests combined was 144,234. This represents a 5% (-7,417) reduction from the previous quarter-end when there were 151,651 ongoing waits, and is the lowest figure observed since quarter-ending … Continue reading Diagnostic tests waiting list in NHS England soars after strikes to 15% longer as it falls in Scotland thanks to Humza settling dispute

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Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland but 9 in England

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From the BMJ yesterday: Nine infants died from whooping cough in England between November last year and the end of May 2024, the UK Health Security Agency has reported. Altogether a total of 7599 cases of whooping cough have been confirmed in England this year, with cases continuing to rise from 555 in January to 920 in February, 1427 in March, 2106. https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj.q1545.full I’ll be accused of being a ghoul for this but by the same folk who love to blame our drug deaths on the SNP Government, so from our regular contributor stewartb in May 2024: My suspicion – … Continue reading Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland but 9 in England

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The Letby baby deaths and the UK Conservative / Lib Dem Government cuts beginning 5 years earlier to nurse-staffing levels far below those in NHS Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson In June 2024, researchers at The Kings Fund revealed the above collapse in funding for the NHS in England, after the last Labour Government in 2009. Above, from the House of Commons Library in March 2024, revealing the 100% plus increase in the waiting lists in the same period of suppressed funding. Above from the Kings Fund in May 2024, evidence of significant increases in some NHS England staffing but, crucially, not in nurses and those who support them – a 25% increase to deal with doubled waiting lists. In the Guardian‘s Lucy Letby: killer or … Continue reading The Letby baby deaths and the UK Conservative / Lib Dem Government cuts beginning 5 years earlier to nurse-staffing levels far below those in NHS Scotland

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Patient safety – NHS Scotland has ‘top pillar’ safety programme and all of our hospitals are safe unlike in some other places

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By Professor John Robertson The Herald today has a scare story about Glasgow Royal but with, of course, little informative value. First, from the Westminster (UK Parliament) Health Committee, in January 2022: The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), introduced by the SNP Scottish Government in 2007, has been praised by a leading European expert on patient safety. In Westminster’s Health Committee, Dr Pelle Gustafson, CMO at Swedish Patient Insurer, responded with “Scotland”, when he was asked which country he would hold at the very top pillar with regards to patient safety.  Dr Gustfason said: “If you take all preventative work in regard … Continue reading Patient safety – NHS Scotland has ‘top pillar’ safety programme and all of our hospitals are safe unlike in some other places

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Oxford research proves Jackie Baillie’s support for UK Labour’s privatised health strategy will lead to ‘worse patient care’

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By Professor John Robertson In the National today: Jackie Baillie has suggested the Scottish Government should follow Wes Streeting’s plans for heavier involvement of the private sector in the NHS. It comes after Streeting promised to go further than Tony Blair in making use of the private sector to ease NHS pressures. https://x.com/ScotNational/status/1810259280970268917 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 Health. … Continue reading Oxford research proves Jackie Baillie’s support for UK Labour’s privatised health strategy will lead to ‘worse patient care’

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Increase in funding for already better-staffed midwifery services

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In January 2024, the Daily Mail reporting a drop in the number of midwives, had: Women are dying during childbirth at the same rates as two decades ago, ‘alarming’ new data shows. An independent review into maternity deaths showed 293 women died during pregnancy and within six weeks of giving birth between 2020 and 2022. Experts said the upward trend is the most compelling evidence yet that failures now span ‘across the entire maternity system’ and is ‘not just one or two hospitals.’ The overall rate in 2020-2022, was 13.41 deaths per 100 000 births and based on the graph … Continue reading Increase in funding for already better-staffed midwifery services

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As outsourced cleaning results in deadly infection outbreak via basins and showers in an English hospital how this Scottish Health Secretary kept cleaning in-house 16 years ago to save uncounted lives

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By Professor John Robertson Today in the Health Service Journal: Frimley Health had 94 cases of CPE last year, due to a major outbreak at Wexham Park The trust has ordered a mortality and morbidity review but does not say if it has been completed CPE thought to travel through drains, affecting wash basins and showers. A hospital trust has ordered a review of potential death and harm caused by an outbreak of a serious healthcare-acquired infection, which is resistant to many antibiotics. Frimley Health Foundation Trust has seen outbreaks of carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales at both its Frimley Park and Wexham … Continue reading As outsourced cleaning results in deadly infection outbreak via basins and showers in an English hospital how this Scottish Health Secretary kept cleaning in-house 16 years ago to save uncounted lives