Tag: health

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‘UK’ Birth trauma report has evidence of a crisis only in England

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BY stewartb The report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in the UK Parliament on birth trauma published today does of course address a really important topic. It merits and has received a lot of attention from the mainstream media: BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning gave it a lot of attention. My interest – as in the main blog post – is in the nature of the APPG’s process – its research scope, its evidence base and the nature of its recommendations. After listening to media reports and skimming through the final report, the following observation seem worth … Continue reading ‘UK’ Birth trauma report has evidence of a crisis only in England

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Conservative minister apologises for birth trauma scandal in England

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From the Guardian today: Minister apologises to women affected by birth trauma after UK inquiry. Inquiry hears ‘harrowing’ testimonies and finds postcode lottery for quality of maternity care. A health minister has apologised to women affected by birth trauma after a parliamentary inquiry that heard “harrowing” testimonies from more than 1,300 women about giving birth found a “postcode lottery” for maternity care. The women’s health minister, Maria Caulfield, on Monday acknowledged ministers had got the approach to maternity services wrong for a long time. A UK inquiry but only the minister covering NHS England is asked and no mention of … Continue reading Conservative minister apologises for birth trauma scandal in England

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Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland – 96% vaccine update

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By stewartb My suspicion – because I’ve never come across anything about whooping cough in the mainstream media that supposedly ‘serves’ Scotland – is that there may well be a favourable story on Scotland’s health services somewhere in the above from Sky News today and indeed there is! From Public Health Scotland on 26 March 2024 (‘Childhood immunisation statistics Scotland – Quarter and year ending 31 December 2023’) , we learn that the vaccination for pertussis, or whooping cough since October 2017, has been ‘part of the combined 6-in-1 vaccine, consisting of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib and Hepatitis B. A booster dose … Continue reading Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland – 96% vaccine update

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Medicine shortages – a Scottish solution

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By Professor John Robertson From the Guardian today, not Anglocentric, for once: Drug shortages in England are now at such critical levels that patients are at risk of immediate harm and even death, pharmacists have warned. The situation is so serious that pharmacists increasingly have to issue “owings” to patients – telling someone that only part of their prescription can be dispensed and asking them to come back for the rest of it later, once the pharmacist has sourced the remainder. https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/09/medicine-shortages-in-england-beyond-critical-pharmacists-warn The above makes no mention of Scotland. Searching for reports of shortages in Scotland gets the same story of shortages … Continue reading Medicine shortages – a Scottish solution

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Infected blood scandal key files were shredded by panicked Labour Government – just another reason why Scots can never trust Labour again

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In the Guardian today: Revealed: key files shredded as UK government panic grew over infected blood deaths lawsuit. Lost documents prevented victims from finding out the truth, official inquiry told. Several batches of files involving the work of a blood safety advisory committee were shredded as the government faced the threat of legal action, documents show. Patients who were given contaminated blood when they were children have also told the infected blood inquiry how their hospital medical files were destroyed or initially withheld. The scheme to import blood from US prisoners was approved in the UK in August 1976. The UK Government … Continue reading Infected blood scandal key files were shredded by panicked Labour Government – just another reason why Scots can never trust Labour again

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Prescription charges up to nearly £10 per item in England and Scottish Labour will not protect Scots from that

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By Professor John Robertson Thanks again to Dottie for alerting me to this. in the Manchester Evening News tonight, the above table and: Millions of NHS patients in England will face higher medicinal costs from next week. The cost of a single NHS prescription will go up to almost £10, following an increase of 25p this year to £9.90. This is an increase of around 2.5 per cent, which is below the rate of inflation, but the increase could still make life more difficult for people on low fixed incomes. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/full-list-new-nhs-prescription-29064519 Never mind Labour will sort this out and protect the vulnerable … Continue reading Prescription charges up to nearly £10 per item in England and Scottish Labour will not protect Scots from that

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A Labour government in 1976 approved the dirty blood from US prisons that killed around 300 Scots and this man couldn’t stop it or did what he was told – want more of this treatment?

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The Right Honourable The Lord Ross of Marnock MBE PC Secretary of State for Scotland in the Labour Government of 1974 to 1979. By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today: A commercial blood product at the centre of the biggest treatment scandal in the history of the NHS was approved for use after government officials were told convicts were among the paid donors and virus contamination “should be assumed”, corporate filings reveal. The product, given to ­haemophiliacs to enable their blood to clot, was injected into thousands of patients in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, ­including young children, who were infected … Continue reading A Labour government in 1976 approved the dirty blood from US prisons that killed around 300 Scots and this man couldn’t stop it or did what he was told – want more of this treatment?

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Desperate stalking and shoddy journalism to find the lost self-dentists of Scotland

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Professor John Robertson We’ve seen the above practice before, especially from the well-named Fiona Stalker of Revolting Scotland and Good Mourning Scotland. It’s a desperate ploy. When the statistical facts say things are better than you’d hoped for, creepily beg the street pundits to come forward with their own wee tales to contradict the facts and act as if these snippets were the real thing. Helen McCardle tries to conceal the same dirty tricks as she bottom feeds for stories of folk going to B&Q (bloody and quick?) for tools to extract their own teeth. Have you pulled your own … Continue reading Desperate stalking and shoddy journalism to find the lost self-dentists of Scotland

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News you won’t hear – Scottish Government help with infant food insecurity

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No exploitative baby photos required, just facts: While BBC Scotland, uniquely among BBC England, Wales and Northern Ireland, concentrate on a Leeds University report on food insecurity, utterly blind to the facts about much lower child poverty in Scotland and SNP initiatives such as the world-leading Child Payment, from the Scottish Government today, but widely ignored: A toolkit for people working with families with infants at risk of food insecurity is promoting cash first responses to allow them to safely, responsively and appropriately feed their babies and helping towards reducing the need for food banks. Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “All children … Continue reading News you won’t hear – Scottish Government help with infant food insecurity

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Crime victims in England and Wales ONLY paying thousands for court transcripts

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By Professor John Robertson The headline is correct but the report is missing something. This, from the Scottish Government in February 2024: Victims in rape and serious sexual assault cases in Scotland will be the first in the UK to have access to transcripts from their court cases free of charge. The year-long pilot, commencing this week (01/03), will see complainers whose cases are heard in the High Court be eligible to apply for transcripts of what was said in court. Justice Secretary Angela Constance said:   “We want to support victims and ensure we have a trauma-informed justice system. … Continue reading Crime victims in England and Wales ONLY paying thousands for court transcripts