Tag: health

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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

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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

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

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“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

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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

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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

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Reporting Scotland platform Tory leadership candidate to tell whopper, unchallenged, about NHS waiting times – all factually better in Scotland on 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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By Professor John Robertson: Interviewed by BBC Scotland this morning Robert Jenrick claimed that there are ‘more people on NHS waiting lists in Scotland than in England.’ That’s a blatant lie but BBC Reporting Scotland’s editor deliberately included it and allowed for no contradiction even though the published evidence quite unambiguously refutes it. Here it is: First, THREE times as many wait more than 12 hours in England’s A&E departments NHS England, Type one A&E, for May 2024, 138 770 waiting more than 4 hours and 42 555 waiting more than 12. 59.7% seen within 4 hours. NHS Scotland, Type ED full … Continue reading Reporting Scotland platform Tory leadership candidate to tell whopper, unchallenged, about NHS waiting times – all factually better in Scotland on 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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Factcheck – Police Scotland absences due to ill-health lower than for NHS

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Today, the Scotsman has the above. It’s a classic ‘big number that is actually a fairly wee number story‘ by a reporter who is either no very bright or has trouble with the truth. Police Scotland has 21 707 staff. According to the Scotsman, they were off due to ill health for 1 020 930 days over 4 years from 2020. So, 260 work days in a year, minus 34 days of leave (28-37 depending on service), is 226 times 21 207 staff times 4 years is 19 171 128 days that could be worked. That … Continue reading Factcheck – Police Scotland absences due to ill-health lower than for NHS

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Factcheck – Based on official statistics, SNP policies have increased life expectancy in Scotland in the last decade but it has stalled elsewhere in the UK

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By Professor John Robertson After decades of improving life expectancies across the UK, the improvement stalled under Tory-rule and, largely due to Covid, fell, but only in Scotland and despite more than a decade of UK austerity, have they increased significantly. In 2010/2012, just into the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition, then in 2021/2023, 11 years later, life expectancy was: I know, life expectancy remains the lowest in the UK, in Scotland, but it’s the direction, the trend that matters. The data. from official sources listed below, are clear – life expectancy from 2010/12 to 2021/23 has only increased significantly in Scotland, by … Continue reading Factcheck – Based on official statistics, SNP policies have increased life expectancy in Scotland in the last decade but it has stalled elsewhere in the UK

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Glasgow hospital deaths inquiry – research says most bacteria are already present in patients and are common in visitors, statistics do not reveal a death spike, these hospitals are cleaner and have the same infection rates as others in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson BBC Reporting Scotland’s Lisa Summers is today, all day, milking the Glasgow hospital deaths being investigated by an inquiry, but then relying heavily on the concerns of relatives who understandably looking for answers they’d be more comfortable with and, dare I say, opportunities to take legal action against the NHS. As always, and across ‘our’ MSM, there is only personalised, sensationalised and tragically simplified comment, no hard evidence such as: First, infections after surgery are more likely due to bacteria already on your skin than from microbes in the hospital  Most health care-associated infections are caused by previously harmless … Continue reading Glasgow hospital deaths inquiry – research says most bacteria are already present in patients and are common in visitors, statistics do not reveal a death spike, these hospitals are cleaner and have the same infection rates as others in Scotland

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Free prescription costs NOT increasing in real terms, saving money for taxpayer and saved thousands in the pandemic

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By Professor John Robertson Parroting New Labour and revealing a complete ignorance of matters that the public should hear of – in the Sunday Post, surely not. I’ll deal with how the cost is not climbing, how universal benefits save money and how they saved lives in the pandemic. Scotland’s free prescription costs are static in line with inflation despite a 29% increase in those over 75, over 10 years From Public Health Scotland, yesterday: The total (net) cost for dispensing items and providing services in 2023/24 was £1.62 billion, increasing by 6.5% from £1.52 billion in 2022/23. This follows a period … Continue reading Free prescription costs NOT increasing in real terms, saving money for taxpayer and saved thousands in the pandemic

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NHS Scotland performance likely to be even further ahead as five examples of cover-up and distortion by NHS England managers is revealed

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By Professor John Robertson: 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 treatment waits.2 However, after decades of rampant managerialism, there have been a number of scandals where these managers, more concerned with image than truth, have introduced procedures to hide the facts. First, back in 2018, it became apparent that NHS England had the dubious practice of restarting the clock after A&E patients are admitted whereas in Scotland counting continues from first arrival.3 See … Continue reading NHS Scotland performance likely to be even further ahead as five examples of cover-up and distortion by NHS England managers is revealed

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Scottish NHS dentist access – 95% registered and shocking 21% better than UK but they don’t want you to know that

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By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland today, all day: Six Scottish council areas are “dental deserts” with no practices able to take on new adult NHS patients within three months, BBC News research has found. Just one in every four dental practices in Scotland said they could offer NHS appointments to new patients within that timeframe. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gd9023018o This was another self-selecting shoddy research project with findings based on ‘those responding’ Not in the report: From Public Health Scotland in August 2024: 5,176,332 people were registered with an NHS dentist as at 30 June 2024 (94.5% of the Scottish population). 621,767 extensive clinical examinations … Continue reading Scottish NHS dentist access – 95% registered and shocking 21% better than UK but they don’t want you to know that