Tag: history

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‘Beware of lonely numbers’ – Scotland’s A&E is still far better – by 15%!

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In December 2023, NHS Scotland’s full emergency departments (Type ED) saw 62.9% of those attending, within 4 hours. In England, the equivalent figure was only 54.7% 62.9% is 14.8% better than 54.7%. That matters. It means around 100 000 more, every month in England waiting over 4 hours, than if they had lived in a country with A&E performing like Scotland. It means around 10 000 fewer in Scotland, every month, waiting over 4 hours, than if they had lived in a country with A&E performing like England. The great statistics in public health communicator Hans Rosling says: When I … Continue reading ‘Beware of lonely numbers’ – Scotland’s A&E is still far better – by 15%!

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For the umpteenth time, there will never be a Grenfell here but Herald’s ferry correspondent lies in our faces for cheap returns

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In the Herald today from Martin Williams, the man with a ferry newsletter, the above disgraceful image and then this: Ministers have been accused of putting lives at risk after it emerged it has overseen the removal of dangerous cladding of just one building seven years after the Grenfell Tower blaze that claimed the lives of 72 people. Who has accused the ministers? A trade union fighting in the interests of its members, as staffing is reduced but by a far lesser extent than fire incidents are plummeting. Just doing what they should but NOT evidence of anything other than … Continue reading For the umpteenth time, there will never be a Grenfell here but Herald’s ferry correspondent lies in our faces for cheap returns

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Why the Barnett Formula is not a subsidy for Scotland

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Leah Gunn Barrett The Barnett Formula is not a subsidy. To understand why it’s not, we need to understand the formula. Scottish public sector revenues are sent annually to the UK Treasury. Every five years there’s a spending review that decides England’s budget and then the Barnett Formula is applied. The formula gives Scotland the same revenue per person change in funding as the change in funding for similar English public services. From that, the UK Treasury allocates the Scottish government its block grant out of which it must fund the services for which it’s responsible. But the block grant … Continue reading Why the Barnett Formula is not a subsidy for Scotland

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7 years after the evidence and 4 years after the SNP call for them ‘UK’ researchers find that safe consumption areas work

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In the Guardian today: Thousands of lives could be saved if safe rooms were set up in UK cities where people could be supervised while they get high, the world’s largest review of the effectiveness of drug-consumption rooms and overdose-prevention centres (OPCs) has found. “OPCs can help save lives in an urgent and growing drug-death crisis in the UK,” said Dr Gillian Shorter, reader in psychology at Queen’s University Belfast, who worked with academics at the universities of Oxford, Kent, East Anglia, West London and Bristol on the study.  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/11/drug-consumption-rooms-could-save-thousands-of-uk-lives-study-finds No Scottish researchers despite the Scottish Government having called for … Continue reading 7 years after the evidence and 4 years after the SNP call for them ‘UK’ researchers find that safe consumption areas work

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SNP government has saved over 100 000 doctor appointments in 2023

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I’m grateful to Dorothy once more for both alerting me to this and for largely guiding the both the sums and the framing of the narrative. As First Minister and, before that, as Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf has been careful to put in the hours, do his day job, to meet with health service union representatives and avert damaging strikes. In England, the story has been very different. From the Guardian, today: Tens of thousands of patients will have their care cancelled from Wednesday in England amid massive disruption caused by a six-day strike by junior doctors – the longest in the … Continue reading SNP government has saved over 100 000 doctor appointments in 2023

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Thanks to SNP, Scotland’s ferry fleet is youngest in world but Scottish Tories do ‘balloon’

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In the Express, today: Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson MSP said that under the SNP the average age of Scotland’s ferries had “ballooned” to 24 years, with a third of its fleet believed to be around 30 years old.  In September 2022, Ernst & Young published these comparative data on ferries: Scotland has the youngest ferries in comparable fleets and the Scottish Government pays the largest subsidy to keep ticket prices down for vulnerable communities, despite the presence among them of a few entitled and ungrateful settlers. Add to the above, Washington State Ferries in the affluent Seattle area … Continue reading Thanks to SNP, Scotland’s ferry fleet is youngest in world but Scottish Tories do ‘balloon’