Tag: health

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If you claim free prescriptions that you’re not entitled to, you could have to pay a penalty charge of up to £100 – in one of the 4 nations

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stewartb I stumbled across an online article from the ‘UK edition’ of The Sun dated 5 April with this headline: ‘DRUG DEAL Brits face having to make ‘unbearable’ decisions ahead of NHS prescription charge rise next month – The exact amount your prescription will rise by and who is exempt from charges.’ The main news is that ‘Charges for prescriptions will increase by 2.59 per cent as of May 1, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced.’ There are a less serious remark to be made about the piece and a wider and more serious observation. Throughout the … Continue reading If you claim free prescriptions that you’re not entitled to, you could have to pay a penalty charge of up to £100 – in one of the 4 nations

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Prime Minister Sunak defends wrong NHS record

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By stewartb From the BBC News website today (11 April): ‘PM defends NHS record as targets missed in England’. Today’s release of waiting times performance data for NHS England merited a high profile on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning. So what have we learned? In this online BBC article we’re told: ‘The NHS recovery plan set a target for the end of March for 76% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.’ (The target used to be 95%.) And then this: ‘.. some 74.2% of patients were seen within four hours in A&Es … Continue reading Prime Minister Sunak defends wrong NHS record

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After more than 50 days of strikes and more than a million appointments cancelled NHS England’s waiting list swells to proportionally TWICE that in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson More than 50 days of NHS strikes in England, and counting, the Guardian today reports: Almost 10 million people across England could be waiting for an NHS appointment or treatment, 2 million more than previously estimated, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics. The ONS survey of about 90,000 adults found that 21% of patients were waiting for a hospital appointment or to start receiving treatment on the NHS. When extrapolated, this equates to 9.7 million people. In January, the waiting list stood at 7.6 million, according to official NHS statistics. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/03/almost-10-million-people-in-england-could-be-on-nhs-waiting-list The Guardian report does … Continue reading After more than 50 days of strikes and more than a million appointments cancelled NHS England’s waiting list swells to proportionally TWICE that in Scotland

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Only 0.0008% of nearly a QUARTER OF A MILLION additional needs cases wait too long and there will be complex reasons for even those 2 but the Lib Dems care little for that

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By Professor John Robertson BBC Reporting Scotland today have a story not being covered by the BBC Scotland website: Long waits for diagnoses of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and ADHD ‘s ‘harmful’ particularly for children. That’s according to the Scottish Liberal Democrats who obtained wait list figures through a Freedom of Information request. The report goes on to ‘cherry pick’ extreme examples of the kind we all know there will be complex reasons for, over and above any supposed staff shortages, and require a Scottish Government response to a problem entirely the responsibility of a health board. The report does … Continue reading Only 0.0008% of nearly a QUARTER OF A MILLION additional needs cases wait too long and there will be complex reasons for even those 2 but the Lib Dems care little for that

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Betraying WASPI women – BBC Reporting Scotland protecting Scottish Labour from scrutiny

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Thanks to Andrew for alerting me to this: A UK minister has refused to confirm whether the government will pay compensation to women hit by the rise in the state pension age. An ombudsman has recommended that those affected receive an apology and pay-outs between one nearly three thousand pounds. What does Scottish Labour have to say, we wonder: Two weeks ago, they were right behind compensation and turning up at WASPI events. Labour Leader, Anas Sarwar, has removed all traces of his earlier support from his social media. Why? Anas Sarwar’s party have received instructions from the UK leadership … Continue reading Betraying WASPI women – BBC Reporting Scotland protecting Scottish Labour from scrutiny

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The politicised campaign against one of the safest hospitals in the UK

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Glasgow’s supposedly ‘troubled‘ super-hospital, the QEUH, has been a steady supplier of stories based on one or two statistically insignificant cases, Scottish Labour ‘ambulance-chasing’ of these few cases and infections ‘linked to‘ deaths there. Try googling ‘QEUH deaths‘ and you’ll see how obsessive the media interest has been. Today, Reporting Scotland is headlining a story of a complaint by some staff based on possible risks with no actual figures to prove any consequences in terms of deaths in the hospital. For years, now, I’ve been trying to counter this shameless demonising of an institution in a proxy war against SNP … Continue reading The politicised campaign against one of the safest hospitals in the UK

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Scotland’s still far better care for those with breathing problems

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In the Observer today: Lung disease patients waiting up to 10 years for diagnosis in poorer areas of England Coincidently in the sister paper, the Guardian, in September 2023, we had this report on the same concerns. It seem little has happened in the years of Johnson, Truss and Sunak. Today in the Guardian: Overlooked lung conditions could create ‘deluge of hospital admissions this winter’ in England, with GPs unable to offer basic lung function testing, report findshttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/26/thousands-with-breathing-problems-going-undiagnosed-due-to-lack-of-tests When I read this, I was reminded of this in September 2019: In Nursing Standard yesterday this horrific news: Asthma patients are putting their lives … Continue reading Scotland’s still far better care for those with breathing problems

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Beauty treatment – BBC ecstatic to report ‘Scotland worst in Europe’ again as Fife woman dies in Türkiye

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beauticians providing customers with cosmetic injections, according to healthcare professionals. Close thing there with that claim. Türkiye is in the Eurovision Song Contest and many go there for cosmetic surgery. BBC Scotland, first thing and throughout the day has another ‘expert’ to damn the Scottish Government for lack of action. Yesterday, it was a London-based climate change rep. The ‘healthcare professionals?’ Frances Turner Traill of the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses. The evidence? From the longer website report: Jackie Partridge of the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses said: “Colleagues across the rest of the world are shocked and in disbelief … Continue reading Beauty treatment – BBC ecstatic to report ‘Scotland worst in Europe’ again as Fife woman dies in Türkiye

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Hospitals are cynically burying evidence about poor care in a “cover-up culture” but UK Conservative Government not to blame apparently

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In the Guardian today but completely absent from BBC websites including amazingly BBC Health, the above shocking scandal: Hospitals are cynically burying evidence about poor care in a “cover-up culture” that leads to avoidable deaths, and families being denied the truth about their loved ones, the NHS ombudsman has warned. Ministers, NHS leaders and hospital boards are doing too little to end the health service’s deeply ingrained “cover-up culture” and victimisation of staff who turn whistleblower, he added. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/17/nhs-ombudsman-warns-hospitals-cynically-burying-evidence-poor-care Even the Guardian article names no government minister nor does it platform the Labour opposition to attack this very real health … Continue reading Hospitals are cynically burying evidence about poor care in a “cover-up culture” but UK Conservative Government not to blame apparently

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Cancer patients ‘at risk’ in England, with far longer waiting times despite less demand than Scotland, is not politicised

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Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ In the Guardian and on the BBC Health website: Cancer patients may be at risk due to overstretched NHS staff, ombudsman warns Cancer patients at risk from stretched NHS, says NHS complaints chief No statistics are offered about actual waiting times. No politician is named or blamed and there is nothing like this which BBC Health did offer last year, much to the reported horror at BBC Scotland: Not only does Scotland have far … Continue reading Cancer patients ‘at risk’ in England, with far longer waiting times despite less demand than Scotland, is not politicised