Tag: health

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How can there be ‘home care facing catastrophic breakdown’ in a system which actually increased the number of places available last year? 

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Today, the Herald has: Home caring services are heading towards a “catastrophic breakdown”, Scottish ministers have been told as industry leaders warn the funding deficit is becoming uncontrollable. Concerns over the sustainability of social care in Scotland have been growing in recent years, with local government body Cosla warning £750 million is needed just to stabilise the vital industry. Is there hard evidence for this claim? From Care home statistics for Scotland Support and services funded by local authorities in Scotland 2024/2025 published yesterday: During 2024/25 there were an estimated 49,605 people who resided in a care home and were fully or partially … Continue reading How can there be ‘home care facing catastrophic breakdown’ in a system which actually increased the number of places available last year? 

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Understanding Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 2 – How Jeanne Freeman’s, unique in the UK, quick action on vaccines saved thousands of lives

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In BBC Scotland’s retrospective comment on Jeanne Freeman’s time as Health Secretary, they write: Freeman stood beside Sturgeon in press conferences throughout the next year. There would be praise for their calm stewardship and she was there at the start of the vaccine roll-out. But the decision to discharge elderly hospital patients to care homes during the first few weeks of the pandemic without a requirement for a negative test was one which hung over Freeman for the rest of her time in politics and beyond. The worst mortality rates were later seen within care homes as the virus spread among … Continue reading Understanding Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 2 – How Jeanne Freeman’s, unique in the UK, quick action on vaccines saved thousands of lives

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Understanding Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 1 – In the murderous first phase of the pandemic, they were 21% lower than in England & Wales

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In the Guardian 19th July 2020, six months after Boris Johnson’s incompetence and callousness allowed the virus free access t the UK and just over three months since the SNP Government got devolved authority for the pandemic tactics, here is what happened to care home residents. In a piece broadly sympathetic to the First Minister and Scotland’s Covid strategy, the Guardian writers seemed to feel the need for ‘balance’ and to use anything they can find even if it’s wrong. Truth, fairness and accuracy are what readers need. You wouldn’t expect to have balance on a piece about the health … Continue reading Understanding Covid deaths in care homes in Scotland 1 – In the murderous first phase of the pandemic, they were 21% lower than in England & Wales

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Why did cancer mortality drop in the pandemic years of 2021 and 2022 if the Daily Record’s contrary claims are true?

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The Daily Record today, has: Cancelled cancer appointments during Covid led to ‘loss of life in Scotland’ – Pausing bowel cancer screening appointments in Scotland during Covid-19 led to missed and late diagnoses, longer waits for colorectal cancer treatment and ultimately loss of life, an inquiry heard. The UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry’ has heard how millions of people had non-urgent operations cancelled during the pandemic. The claim comes from, as far as I can see, no actual figures, but just the views of the Chair, Baroness Heather Hallett when she said: The lack of screening for colorectal cancer, for example, led to missed and … Continue reading Why did cancer mortality drop in the pandemic years of 2021 and 2022 if the Daily Record’s contrary claims are true?

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NINE ways Scotland handled the Covid-19 pandemic better than the rest of the UK

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The Guardian today, with no reference to Scotland of course, has: The NHS “teetered on the brink of collapse” during the Covid pandemic and only managed to survive thanks to the “superhuman” efforts of healthcare workers, an official inquiry has concluded. In a damning assessment of how the UK’s healthcare systems dealt with the unprecedented pressure of the pandemic, the Covid-19 inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, said the impact of the virus was “devastating” due to the NHS being in a “parlous state” before the outbreak. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/19/superhuman-healthcare-workers-saved-nhs-from-collapse-covid-inquiry-concludes Is this true of Scotland’s experience? ‘Scotland’s’ media and opposition parties want it to be so it is, … Continue reading NINE ways Scotland handled the Covid-19 pandemic better than the rest of the UK

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A major new study counters ‘deluge of negativity, accusations and downright lies’ about NHS Scotland

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By Jim Mennie The Meidas Scotland  ‘Have Your Say’ survey created to gather feedback on Scottish NHS experiences — Scottish NHS: Your Stories Matter — has gathered over 400 responses in a matter of weeks and is already generating valuable insight.  The survey link – https://meidasscotland.eaction.org.uk/hospitals Meidas Scotland – https://www.facebook.com/people/Meidas-Scotland/61573925276612/ https://x.com/MeidasScotland and https://bsky.app/profile/sovereign.scothttps://www.instagram.com/meidasscotland/https://www.tiktok.com/@meidasscotlandhttps://free-scotland.scot/ I created this survey after becoming furious at the sheer deluge of negativity, accusations and downright lies coming from some politicians and parts of the mainstream Scottish media. Enough was enough — if they weren’t going to tell the truth, then I’d ask the public directly. I wanted the … Continue reading A major new study counters ‘deluge of negativity, accusations and downright lies’ about NHS Scotland

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BBC Scotland’s Sad Mould Alert! – Construction/renovation accounts for 50% of mould outbreaks, easily cleared up, zero deaths in UK

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Gleefully headlined today by BBC Scotland, another hospital mould story. The last time they had such fun was with hospital pigeon poo: Wall panels and insulation at two new Aberdeen hospital facilities have had to be ripped out because of mould before the buildings receive their first patients. Infection control teams sounded the alarm at the Baird Family Hospital and The Anchor Centre cancer unit after construction materials were allowed to get wet, BBC Scotland News has learned. The experts warned that dormant mould spores could reactivate when the overbudget and delayed facilities finally open, posing a health hazard for … Continue reading BBC Scotland’s Sad Mould Alert! – Construction/renovation accounts for 50% of mould outbreaks, easily cleared up, zero deaths in UK

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‘An unannounced inspection by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) has praised maternity services at Victoria Hospital, NHS Fife, for delivering compassionate, person-centred care’

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By stewartb ‘Maternity Services in Kirkcaldy not being ‘up to standard.’ – surely such BBC Scotland negativity CANNOT be about maternity services at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy? From the NHS Fife website today, 19 March: ‘An unannounced inspection by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) has praised maternity services at Victoria Hospital, NHS Fife, for delivering compassionate, person-centred care. The inspection, carried out in December 2025, highlighted strong multidisciplinary teamwork, visible senior leadership, and highly positive feedback from women and families using the service.’ From the actual report: Healthcare Improvement Scotland (March 19, 2026) Unannounced Inspection Report Maternity Services Safe Delivery of Care Inspection … Continue reading ‘An unannounced inspection by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) has praised maternity services at Victoria Hospital, NHS Fife, for delivering compassionate, person-centred care’

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The story of Covid was not the same across the UK – this is a deliberate lie to conceal Scotland’s demonstrably and significantly better performance and recovery

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across the UK, but recovery after Covid is perhaps one area where Scotland has performed a little bit worse than England England in terms of the waiting times for non-urgent operations that people are facing right now. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002szh1/reporting-scotland-lunchtime-news-19032026 BBC Reporting Scotland today, ignoring all the evidence that does not fit their agenda and trying to tell you that the SNP Government did no better and even, in recovery, even worse. First excess deaths First, Excess Deaths – From the Covid Inquiry documents, Table 13, during the pandemic period from March 2020 to February 2022, in England, excess deaths were 6.5% … Continue reading The story of Covid was not the same across the UK – this is a deliberate lie to conceal Scotland’s demonstrably and significantly better performance and recovery

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Covid Inquiry returns today – The Scottish Government took a significantly different approach to achieve the lowest death rate in the UK ‘in spite of the relatively high levels of poverty-related ill health in Scotland, which might have been expected to result in a higher Age-standardised Mortality’

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BBC England and Wales are headlining this but BBC Scotland is not. Perhaps this is why. – excess deaths during the worst of the pandemic, March 2020 to February 2022, were nearly twice as high in England and 20% higher in Wales, revealed in the above archived document for excess deaths and in this on the overall death rate: The Scottish Government took a significantly different approach to extending NPIs in September and October 2020 at a time when it is suggested that there was a delay in the UK Government acting. 12. In this context, a key question that … Continue reading Covid Inquiry returns today – The Scottish Government took a significantly different approach to achieve the lowest death rate in the UK ‘in spite of the relatively high levels of poverty-related ill health in Scotland, which might have been expected to result in a higher Age-standardised Mortality’