Tag: health

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Will Anas Sarwar be asked about Starmer’s ‘disastrous’ pharma deal with the US that could cots Scotland £6bn and 30 000 deaths

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting us to this: From the Canary fact checker yesterday: Keir Starmer’s disastrous trade deal with Trump for US pharmaceuticals may end up costing the UK £64bn. That’s massively over the £1bn estimate that the government itself gave to the public. Worse still, the money diverted from other NHS services may cost hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decade. That’s according to explosive reporting from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The Bureau, in turn, used economic modelling from a team at the University of York, lead by professor Karl Claxton. This professor previously sat on the appraisal committee for the the National Institute for … Continue reading Will Anas Sarwar be asked about Starmer’s ‘disastrous’ pharma deal with the US that could cots Scotland £6bn and 30 000 deaths

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Have the Scottish Labour MPs joined the campaign against the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS contracts which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

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In the Guardian today: MPs have queued up to demand the government scraps its £330m NHS contract with the spy-tech company Palantir, calling it “dreadful” and “shameful” in a debate on Thursday, after which the government said it was “no fan” of the US company’s politics. Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs led the calls for Palantir, which also works for Donald Trump’s ICE immigration crackdown and the Israeli military, to be removed as a supplier to the NHS federated data platform (FDP), with one Labour backbencher, Samantha Niblett, questioning whether it could be “trusted as a custodian of the intimate health records of … Continue reading Have the Scottish Labour MPs joined the campaign against the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS contracts which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

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East Tennessee cancer victims living ‘in the shadow’ of nuclear sites to be compensated despite having far lower rates and deaths than Scots living ‘in the shadow’ of Sellafield only 43 miles away, upwind and upstream, across the border with England

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From 6 News in Tennessee, USA, yesterday: For decades, communities in Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties have lived in the shadow of nuclear sites, now, help is finally here for those impacted. A federal program has come to East Tennessee, offering compensation to people diagnosed with cancer linked to radiation exposure. Watch the video in full at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euLZm6uyPsQ Why this area? From the Tennessee Environmental Council: Most Tennesseans think of Oak Ridge when radioactive issues are mentioned, but Tennessee is actually a major player when it comes to disposing of radioactive waste, with processors across the state: Up to 75% … Continue reading East Tennessee cancer victims living ‘in the shadow’ of nuclear sites to be compensated despite having far lower rates and deaths than Scots living ‘in the shadow’ of Sellafield only 43 miles away, upwind and upstream, across the border with England

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A Labour Government agrees to compensate those infected by blood products from US prisons approved by another Labour Government in 1976, and despite warnings from their own Health Secretary. The Labour Scottish Secretary was there failing to protect us

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Today, the Guardian has: Compensation payments will rise for people affected by the infected blood scandal, including an extra £35,000 each for former pupils who were experimented on at school without their knowledge, the paymaster general has announced. The government has allocated £1bn for the payments. The final report of the inquiry into what has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history was published in May 2024. The compensation scheme that followed has also been blighted by controversy. People who were infected, and their relatives, had complained about delays, qualifying criteria, the size of payments and the complex application process. Among … Continue reading A Labour Government agrees to compensate those infected by blood products from US prisons approved by another Labour Government in 1976, and despite warnings from their own Health Secretary. The Labour Scottish Secretary was there failing to protect us

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Why is Crisis Scotland being so fulsome in its praise for a 2040 Scottish Labour aspiration 14 years after this election?

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By stewartb Governing with devolved powers, how might Crisis Scotland and others judge the credentials of the British Labour Party in Scotland when (supposedly) setting ‘a new standard of aspiration’ and a pledge ‘to end homelessness by 2040′? What about the Party’s actual delivery in government rather than its aspiration for 14 years’ hence? From Crisis (10 April,, 2025): The Homelessness Monitor: Wales 2025. ‘This fifth Wales-focused Monitor report takes a look at where homelessness stands in Wales, focusing particularly on the implementation of the Ending Homelessness in Wales High Level Action Plan, including planned extensive legal reforms, as well as the ongoing impacts … Continue reading Why is Crisis Scotland being so fulsome in its praise for a 2040 Scottish Labour aspiration 14 years after this election?

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How actual facts prove there is no two-tier health system in Scotland contrary the three wee anecdotes set up for the Unionist leaders

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In the last three weeks I know of someone who is 83rd in the list of seeing a doctor in accident and emergency. There were 83 patients before them and they had to wait ten hours to be seen. I know someone who has waited over two and a half years to get an audiology test. Driven towards paying £1800 to buy from a high street store. Within four days, they had their hearing aids. We also know of someone who has been on a waiting list, we keep talking about bringing them down, the Scottish nationalist party (sic) they … Continue reading How actual facts prove there is no two-tier health system in Scotland contrary the three wee anecdotes set up for the Unionist leaders

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NHS Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many nurses, per capita, as NHS England every year yet the Royal College of Nursing is only campaigning against the SNP in Scotland in an election run-up

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The Herald and other press operating in Scotland today have this story from the Royal College of Nursing: Scotland is currently missing the equivalent of an entire year’s cohort of nursing students, with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warning that rapid action is necessary to address the declining number of people applying to study nursing. The RCN has stated that more than 3,500 fewer students have started nursing degrees over the last four years than the Scottish Government said were needed, leaving a gap that equals an entire annual intake. This “missing cohort” will impact hospitals, community services, and care settings for years to come. The RCN has urged politicians to take decisive action to promote nursing careers and support individuals who choose to study nursing, including providing clear pathways for career progression and stronger financial support for students. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26009297.nurses-stark-warning-parties-entire-years-cohort-missing/ It’s not on the BBC Scotland News website but I’m guessing that Reporting Scotland Down and Good Mourning Scotland broadcasts will be all over it. The RCN has nothing about nurse recruitment in England and yet: The Scotsman in February 2025 was front-paging Alarm over fresh drop in applicants for nurses course based on a 2% reduction in applications, from 4 650 to 4 560, six months before ‘clearing’ processes in the week and months before courses start, can fill the missing places. The ‘alarm’ was from a … Continue reading NHS Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many nurses, per capita, as NHS England every year yet the Royal College of Nursing is only campaigning against the SNP in Scotland in an election run-up

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Barnardo’s find 7 in 10 ‘UK’ parents want the SNP Baby Box which may have stemmed a surge in infant mortality due to Tory austerity in Scotland

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In the Guardian today: Four in 10 UK [sic] parents struggle to afford essentials for newborns, study says – Exclusive: Survey of 2,000 people by Barnardo’s also finds almost half feel their child has missed opportunities due to cost and four paragraphs down well away from the ‘UK’ headline: In Scotland, all parents are eligible for a box of baby essentials that includes clothes, books, a changing mat and a bath towel. Since the scheme was launched by the Scottish government in 2017, more than 360,000 baby boxes have been distributed. However, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, provision is inconsistent. Barnardo’s … Continue reading Barnardo’s find 7 in 10 ‘UK’ parents want the SNP Baby Box which may have stemmed a surge in infant mortality due to Tory austerity in Scotland

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Scotland’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme kits being issued in ever greater numbers to fight the effects of the plague of English drug gangs with cheaper more powerful forms backed by extreme violence and to reduce the load in hospitals

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From National naloxone programme Scotland – Quarterly monitoring bulletin Quarterly Monitoring Bulletin July to September (Q2) 2025/26, published today, the above, and: This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on the number of take-home naloxone kits issued by the National Naloxone Programme (NNP) in Scotland (1 July 2025 to 30 September 2025). Figures are presented separately for kits issued from community-based services (mainly specialist drug treatment and non-drug treatment services), kits issued in prisons at the point of liberation, kits dispensed via community prescription, and kits issued by Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). Accidental overdose is a common cause … Continue reading Scotland’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme kits being issued in ever greater numbers to fight the effects of the plague of English drug gangs with cheaper more powerful forms backed by extreme violence and to reduce the load in hospitals

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Thistle Centre Successes – The Herald headlines a confused Tory quote on drug addiction to maintain their proud record of untrustworthy fiction

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The Herald headline today is ‘The SNP’s policy of state-sponsored drug taking is doing nothing to tackle addiction‘ under a photo of the SNP leader and the Glasgow SNP leader. So another of their ‘Beyond the Headlines. Into the facts’ series? Yeh, yeh, we see the speech marks there but who on earth notices them and thinks ‘Oh that might not be true?’ This is about the Thistle Safe Injection Centre in Glasgow. So, the Thistle Centre has not cut addiction? Was that one of it’s published aims? Nope. Here they are: The facility is explicitly described as a Safer … Continue reading Thistle Centre Successes – The Herald headlines a confused Tory quote on drug addiction to maintain their proud record of untrustworthy fiction