Tag: mental-health

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Scottish Government scheme slashes drug-related hospital stays to reduce load and stem drug deaths

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From National Mission on Drugs: annual report 2025 to 2026, published today and to zero media attention: On 20 January 2021, the former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made a statement to Parliament which set out a National Mission to reduce drug deaths and improve lives through a range of improvements to treatment, recovery and other support services. This fifth and final National Mission annual report sets out the progress made from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 against the National Mission Plan. Annual analytical reports monitoring the progress of the National Mission are published separately. https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-mission-drugs-annual-report-2025-2026/pages/2/ This is an … Continue reading Scottish Government scheme slashes drug-related hospital stays to reduce load and stem drug deaths

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NHS Scotland treating 20% more in 12 weeks than NHS England as think-tank predicts a crisis there by the next election

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Typically dishonest, gutter-level journalism from the Herald today. Moving the formal maximum target from an unmet 12 weeks to a 26-week aim by 2031 is a relaxation of ambition relative to the old legal standard, but it does not mean the plan is to increase waits to twice what people experience today. For a large number of current long-waiters it would still represent an improvement if achieved. Like many health service targets, our aging, less active yet more expectant population, living in a world of de-regulated food production and made addicts to hyper-processed non-food by global corporations, cannot be met. … Continue reading NHS Scotland treating 20% more in 12 weeks than NHS England as think-tank predicts a crisis there by the next election

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As NHS England’s Fonagy review into mental health support reveals a ‘dire lack of support’ how NHS Scotland hit 90% or more target for 8th time in a row

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In the Guardian today, we hear of  ‘an inquiry into England’s ever-extending waiting lists for the diagnosis of mental illness and neurodevelopmental conditions, and the dire lack of support for people who experience one or both of them.’ BBC Scotland relies on another RCEM Scotland claim that A&E doctors are ‘completely terrified‘ in Scotland yet not so in England where the more than 12 hour waits strongly associated with excess death are twice as comon. This is, of course, is fully swept under the Editor’s carpet: From Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting times Quarter ending June 2026 … Continue reading As NHS England’s Fonagy review into mental health support reveals a ‘dire lack of support’ how NHS Scotland hit 90% or more target for 8th time in a row

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Why does the Royal College of Emergency Medicine avoid comparisons with Scotland when they reveal England to be the ‘Capital of Deadly Long Waits?’

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By stewartb When reading across the press statements that the RCEM makes regularly on the waiting times performances of the NHS in England, the north of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, it is rare to find it refer directly to between nation comparisons. In particular, the longstanding better performance of NHS Scotland tends not to be acknowledged although clearly evident in time series graphs tucked away in the RCEM’s website. Rare but not never! One such occurrence in a recent RCEM press statement on NHS Scotland (see below) strikes me as rather ‘odd’ if not perverse! For context, from the RCEM … Continue reading Why does the Royal College of Emergency Medicine avoid comparisons with Scotland when they reveal England to be the ‘Capital of Deadly Long Waits?’

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As long waits triggering corridor care surge to twice the Scottish rate in England, One RCEM ‘leading emergency doctor’ in Scotland is ‘completely terrified’ but not for them

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From BBC Scotland today, based on the RCEM union convener in Scotland: A leading emergency doctor has said she is “completely terrified” about upcoming winter pressures on Scotland’s already-stretched NHS. Dr Fiona Hunter, vice chair of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, said A&E departments were providing “unsafe” levels of care, with some patients spending 72 hours on trolleys in hospital corridors. and: She said she wanted to remedy a lack of statistics kept around corridor care and to move towards a system where preparing for winter was a “year round” activity. BBC Scotloand have been working on this … Continue reading As long waits triggering corridor care surge to twice the Scottish rate in England, One RCEM ‘leading emergency doctor’ in Scotland is ‘completely terrified’ but not for them

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Scotland’s extra-funded national winter health plan package is likely to be more co-ordinated and more effective

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From New winter health plan to ease hospital pressures published today: Expanded Hospital at Home services, a public awareness campaign and targeted investment to reduce waiting lists are all part of a newly-unveiled health preparedness plan for winter. A collective effort is critical in the months ahead to ease pressures on the NHS, Health Secretary Angela Constance said as she launched the new national winter health plan. In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, the Health Secretary set out several actions to provide guidance to health and social care systems ahead of winter, including: an increased focus on community care, … Continue reading Scotland’s extra-funded national winter health plan package is likely to be more co-ordinated and more effective

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NHS Scotland treating 20% more in 12 weeks than NHS England in 12 weeks as think-tank predicts a crisis there by the next election

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Across the BBC this morning and in the Telegraph, the above and: NHS waiting times will be twice as long as Labour promised by the next election, new analysis shows. The health service will fail to meet the 18-week waiting target that had been a flagship pledge of Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, a report by the Health Foundation think tank predicts. Instead, it says, based on the rate of progress in Labour’s first two years in power, patients will still be waiting an average 35 weeks in 2029 – almost twice as long as promised. The Government will have barely … Continue reading NHS Scotland treating 20% more in 12 weeks than NHS England in 12 weeks as think-tank predicts a crisis there by the next election

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‘Horrifying’ scale of child-on-child sexual abuse in schools cannot be confidently transferred to Scotland

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In the Guardian today: Lawyers and campaigners have condemned the “horrifying” scale of child-on-child sexual abuse in schools after a Guardian investigation revealed thousands of sexual offences against under-13s, including multiple rapes, are reported to police every year. Close to five sexual crimes against children aged 12 and younger were recorded on average by police every day in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales, according to Guardian analysis of police data for 2021-25. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/oct/04/child-on-child-sexual-abuse-schools-england-and-wales Directly comparable figures are not available. However, sexual offences based on police records published in government outlets are. In the year ending March 2026, … Continue reading ‘Horrifying’ scale of child-on-child sexual abuse in schools cannot be confidently transferred to Scotland

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Aging NHS workforce? Retirement ‘crisis?’ Just as well we train so many more nurses and doctors than England can?

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Crowdfunder – https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-goingBank transfer – JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account 12266421 The Herald, you have to feel for the wee souls, dragging up another scare story from the sump of their files. The Guardian in January 2026 had: Helen Lambert borrowed £57,000 to go to university and began repaying her student loan in 2021 after starting work as an NHS nurse. Since then she has repaid more than £5,000, typically having about £145 a month taken from her pay packet. But everything she hands over is dwarfed by the £400-plus of interest that is added to her debt every … Continue reading Aging NHS workforce? Retirement ‘crisis?’ Just as well we train so many more nurses and doctors than England can?

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When they tell you there’s no evidence for Swinney’s radical plan to merge Scotland’s health boards, here’s what to say

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On BBC Scotland, today, the above headline claim and: Leading doctors are calling on the Scottish government to withdraw its plans to drastically reduce the number of health boards. The new chairwoman of BMA Scotland, Dr Nora Murray-Cavanagh, said the proposal to cut the number from 14 to just two would be costly and time consuming – and that there was no clear evidence it would benefit patients. So, the BMA Scotland branch is a very part-time GP and union organiser heavily distracted by politics, who, with the best will in the world, will be hard-pushed to top any committed … Continue reading When they tell you there’s no evidence for Swinney’s radical plan to merge Scotland’s health boards, here’s what to say