Tag: health

2 Comments

Scotland’s emergency departments at least 10% better than in NHS England in September 2024 and probably more than that if the latter’s trickery is exposed

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland today, 65.9% of those attending full Emergency Departments, in September 2024 were seen within 4 hours.1 From NHS England, the equivalent figure was 59.8%.2 NHS Scotland’s ED’s are thus 10.4% more efficient. Sources: The gap is probably greater: NHS Scotland performance likely to be even further ahead as five examples of cover-up and distortion by NHS England managers is revealed We already know that, based on trusting the current published NHS England data, NHS Scotland’s A&E service is around 3 times better on the crucial 12 hour waits1 and twice as effective on cancer … Continue reading Scotland’s emergency departments at least 10% better than in NHS England in September 2024 and probably more than that if the latter’s trickery is exposed

4 Comments

Susan Dalgety misses the three woman who have really saved lives from cancer in Scotland

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA Former Jack McConnell spad and regular Scotsman fake news provider, Susan Dalgety, is front page today with: How three women are saving lives from cancer. Straight off, I thought she must be talking of those three Scottish health secretaries, Nicola Sturgeon, Shona Robison and Jeanne Freeman. Turns out it’s not them, yet: Scotland’s dramatically better cancer waiting times September 20th 2024, BBC UK’s Nick Triggle has: The cancers with longest treatment waits revealed with the above graph for NHS England data. I’ve added, where possible, equivalent Scottish data. While skin and prostate/kidney waiting times do seem slightly longer … Continue reading Susan Dalgety misses the three woman who have really saved lives from cancer in Scotland

Leave a comment

Good news – major fall in annual trends for suspected drug deaths, A&E and hospital admissions

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland today: Drug-related data can vary seasonally, so me comparing the same quarter, in this case June-August, gives a more accurate measure of trends. First, on drug deaths: In the latest period (3 June to 25 August 2024), the total number of suspected drug deaths was 225, averaging 19 per week. The total number of deaths was 10% lower than the previous quarter (249), 13% lower than the same period in 2022 (258) and 25% lower than in 2023 (301). A suspected drug death is a death where controlled drugs are suspected of being … Continue reading Good news – major fall in annual trends for suspected drug deaths, A&E and hospital admissions

3 Comments

Falling fertility rates – Scotland leads UK in progress for women, families, societies and the environment

johnrobertson834

BBC Health has this today: Women in England and Wales had an average of 1.44 children between 2022 and 2023, the lowest rate on record. Only 591,072 babies were born in 2023, fewer than in any year since 1977 and a fall of more than 14,000 on the previous year, figures from the Office for National Statistics, external showed. For countries to maintain their populations, the fertility rate needs to be around 2.1 children per woman. Experts say the government could introduce some policies to help. “The government could implement immediate interventions… such as offering longer paid parental leave, more funding for childcare … Continue reading Falling fertility rates – Scotland leads UK in progress for women, families, societies and the environment

1 Comment

Rachel Reeves to fund a 0.57% increase in appointments in desperate attempt to catch NHS Scotland

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA: From BBC Health, yesterday: Chancellor sets out new funding for extra NHS appointments then spells it out: The chancellor has said more funding will be provided to help the NHS deliver the extra 40,000 appointments and procedures per week – or more than two million a year – promised in the Labour manifesto. An extra 40 000, 2 million more every year? Big numbers, or are they Primary 7? From NHS England on 25 April 2024: GP teams delivered almost 30 million appointments for patients last month (March 2024), up almost a quarter on the same period before … Continue reading Rachel Reeves to fund a 0.57% increase in appointments in desperate attempt to catch NHS Scotland

1 Comment

20 peer-reviewed and published research studies find that NORMAL operation of reactors causes ‘cancers chromosomal aberrations, birth defects and miscarriages, and mental retardation after in utero exposure’ and Scottish Labour will risk more of that

johnrobertson834

In an extensive review of research over the last 30 years, published in 2016 in the International Journal of Environmental Research into Public Health, Dean Kyne (University of Texas) and Bob Bolin (Arizona State University) identified 20 reports confirming that normal operation, as opposed to during accidents like that at Chernobyl, causes cancer especially after exposure before birth and in very young children. They write: Evidence suggests that individuals living near the nuclear power plants face difficult-to-avoid health risks associated with exposure to low level routine radioactive effluents emitted from plants. Given that no level of radiation exposure is considered … Continue reading 20 peer-reviewed and published research studies find that NORMAL operation of reactors causes ‘cancers chromosomal aberrations, birth defects and miscarriages, and mental retardation after in utero exposure’ and Scottish Labour will risk more of that

7 Comments

8% of UKthe population but 16% of the meat exports – 8% of the UK population but 31% of total UK food and drink exports

johnrobertson834

Many thanks to Cuckooshoe for alerting me to this, from Meatex on 16 October 2024, but of no interest to BBC Scotland: Scotland’s red meat and offal exports beyond the UK have experienced a significant rise, reaching a value of £137 million, according to the latest survey by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). The report highlights a remarkable recovery in the sector, with a 26% increase in export value compared to previous years.1 From ADHB on 1 October 2024: The latest figures from HMRC show that from January to June 2024, total UK red meat exports were up 2% in volume … Continue reading 8% of UKthe population but 16% of the meat exports – 8% of the UK population but 31% of total UK food and drink exports

6 Comments

NHS Scotland has 25% more nurses per head than the UK and more than almost everywhere in the world but a Scottish newspaper doesn’t want you thinking the SNP can cope with anything

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson: From the World Health Organisation in May 2024 but based on , nursing and midwifery personnel per 10 000 population with England and Scotland latest data inserted separately: There are another 20 or so countries with even fewer nurses per head than India at 17 nurses per 10 000 people but with a space programme to make up for that. But, from the Daily Record‘s Andrew Quinn, yesterday this sad cringing piece: The UK has fewer nurses per head than its European neighbours, according to SNP-commissioned analysis. The House of Commons library research showed the UK has lagged … Continue reading NHS Scotland has 25% more nurses per head than the UK and more than almost everywhere in the world but a Scottish newspaper doesn’t want you thinking the SNP can cope with anything

9 Comments

Hospital water supply infection – BBC Scotland refute accusation of fake news by the Humpty Dumpty reasoning of the master

johnrobertson834

“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.” ― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass When I saw their reasoning in a response to TuS friend AR, I immediately thought of Humpty Dumpty in the above quote from Alice in Wonderland. Here’s their excuse with my post which had inspired the complaint, below: No … Continue reading Hospital water supply infection – BBC Scotland refute accusation of fake news by the Humpty Dumpty reasoning of the master

3 Comments

Massive French study finds nuclear workers almost 10 times more likely to develop chronic myeloid leukemia, to further undermine Labour’s nuclear strategy for Scotland

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson Yesterday, in Physician’s Weekly, a post on The Lancet Hematology‘s report of: Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire in Fontenay-aux-Roses, France, and colleagues examined the associations between radiation dose and mortality due to hematologic malignancies in a cohort of 309,932 radiation-monitored workers employed for at least one year by nuclear facilities in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They conclude: For chronic myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes alone or combined with acute myeloid leukemia, positive associations were also seen (excess relative rates per Gy, 9.57, 3.19, and 1.55, respectively).  https://www.physiciansweekly.com/protracted-radiation-exposure-linked-to-hematologic-cancer-mortality/ What does an excess … Continue reading Massive French study finds nuclear workers almost 10 times more likely to develop chronic myeloid leukemia, to further undermine Labour’s nuclear strategy for Scotland