Three England-only research reports do not prove that eating disorder treatment in Scotland is underfunded especially when NHS Scotland can treat 84 cases from England

January 22, 2025 johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to https://bsky.app/profile/keepinfairlieweird.bsky.social for alerting me to this. From BBC Health today: Lives are being lost and families torn apart because of “woefully inadequate care” for people with eating disorders, according to a group of MPs. The “alarming” rise in disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, over the past decade, has now become an “emergency”, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eating Disorders says in a report. The report refers to figures showing a growing number of people affected: The report says services are “grossly” underfunded, there are barriers to accessing treatment and wide variations in care quality … Continue reading Three England-only research reports do not prove that eating disorder treatment in Scotland is underfunded especially when NHS Scotland can treat 84 cases from England

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Lib Dumbs have another go at making up the numbers to reveal police Scotland staff have well below UK level of absences for ‘psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, and stress’

January 9, 2025 johnrobertson834

Today, on BBC Reporting Scotland, faithfully repeating what’s in 1919, an online mag with no peer-review and no standards of referencing, dedicated to representing uncritically the views of the police officers’ trade union and any opposition politician who will help them claim they’re hard done by, in Scotland: The number of working days lost to mental ill health in Police Scotland has surged by more than 50 per cent over the past five years. Since 2019, officers and staff have taken a total of 440,630 days off due to psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, and stress. The findings come amid … Continue reading Lib Dumbs have another go at making up the numbers to reveal police Scotland staff have well below UK level of absences for ‘psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, and stress’

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Are Scottish doctors still likely to be less stressed than others in the UK? This survey will not tell us

January 2, 2025 johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian yesterday: Seven in 10 GPs suffer from compassion fatigue and struggle to empathise with patients because they are worn out from caring for them, a survey has found. Family doctors say they are so emotionally and physically exhausted from hearing about patients’ problems and circumstances that it is compromising the quality of care they provide. A poll of 1,855 doctors across the UK found that 71% of GPs and 62% of medics overall have experienced compassion fatigue, which undermines the doctor-patient relationship. “Compassion fatigue is effectively a hidden, secondary trauma with symptoms that can ultimately make it … Continue reading Are Scottish doctors still likely to be less stressed than others in the UK? This survey will not tell us

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Lib Dems find Scottish Nurses lose 3 days a year to mental health problems, fewer than UK average of 8

December 28, 2024 johnrobertson834

In another of their many, waste-of-public-funds-to-dig-dirt-on-SNP, freedom of information requests, the Lib Dems in the Daily Record on Boxing Day: More than 700,000 days of nursing and midwifery staff time have been lost due to mental ill health since 2020, according to figures obtained by the Scottish Lib Dems. Freedom of information data showed 762,975 days were lost across the 14 territorial health boards. NHS Lanarkshire had the highest total in 2023/24, at 24,342 days lost. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/more-700000-nursing-days-lost-34374193 There are 65 270 nurses and midwives employed by NHS Scotland. https://www.nursingtimes.net/workforce/scottish-nursing-vacancies-falling-but-still-stubbornly-high-06-12-2023/#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20nurses%20and,in%20response%20to%20the%20figures.&text=The%20numbers%2C%20published%20in%20a,working%20in%20the%20health%20service. Most UK full-time employees work around 260 days per year. https://zelt.app/blog/how-many-working-days-are-in-one-year/ So Scotland’s nurses … Continue reading Lib Dems find Scottish Nurses lose 3 days a year to mental health problems, fewer than UK average of 8

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Will this Labour MP praise her local hospitals as they treat 99% of drug and alcohol patients well within the target time?

December 26, 2024 johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA As we try to settle our stomachs after the recent Jackie Baillie/ Herald/ BBC Scotland attack on a Clydebank hospital, it occurred to me that my new local MP is very quiet. Her office is largely ignoring constituent enquiries so the above hope is no doubt in vain. In October 2024, Jackie Baillie, in the Scotsman, ‘accused [SNP] ministers of failing to get a grip on the crisis‘ on drug deaths. Would 99% of drug abuse patients being seen in the target time of 3 weeks do for a grip? Would the MP for Ayr, Carrick and … Continue reading Will this Labour MP praise her local hospitals as they treat 99% of drug and alcohol patients well within the target time?

Why Scotland’s headline drug death figures are currently not based on a reliable measure

December 22, 2024 johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Media and opposition parties are morbidly determined to hang onto Scotland’s drug death status as a rare apparently objective stick to beat the SNP Government into submission with. Earlier this year, they were all irrepressibly delighted to hear that there was a 12% increase from 2022 to 2023, following disturbing, for them, reductions in each of the two previous years after nearly three decades of satisfyingly climbing figures.1 These National Records of Scotland data are based on post mortem blood tests and commonly presented as more reliable than the Suspected drug deaths in Scotland. The latter are collected … Continue reading Why Scotland’s headline drug death figures are currently not based on a reliable measure

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Chronic pain treatment levels now even higher than before pandemic but you’d never know that if you relied on BBC Scotland’s Fiona Stalker

December 10, 2024 johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland today: During the quarter ending 30 September 2024, 5,315 patients were referred to a consultant-led chronic pain clinic. This is an increase of 2.8% compared to the previous quarter, when 5,170 patients were referred. Referrals to a chronic pain clinic are now higher than during 2023, when on average 4,990 patients were referred each quarter. Referrals are also higher than the levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic when on average 5,197 patients were referred each quarter during 2019. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/chronic-pain-waiting-times/chronic-pain-waiting-times-quarter-ending-30-september-2024/ BBC Scotland haven’t reported on chronic pain since 2020 when they found three folk … Continue reading Chronic pain treatment levels now even higher than before pandemic but you’d never know that if you relied on BBC Scotland’s Fiona Stalker

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SNP to reverse Labour’s cruel two child benefit cap and push on to eradicate child poverty for all of us

December 4, 2024December 4, 2024 johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA From the National minutes ago: 2:40pm BREAKING: The SNP will axe the UK Government’s controversial two-child benefit cap for thousands of Scots. Finance Secretary Shona Robison will make the announcement in her Holyrood Budget speech in just a matter of minutes, according to The Scottish Sun. This would be a big move, and one that will put Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour in a tricky position …https://www.thenational.scot/news/24770245.scottish-budget-live-snp-set-tax-spending-plans/?ref=ebbn&nid=1457&u=373de6c7573215d01eab2a2993b269b0&date=041224 At 15:25 she did it! Why is this a major moment in history? From the London School of Economics in September 2023 Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host … Continue reading SNP to reverse Labour’s cruel two child benefit cap and push on to eradicate child poverty for all of us

Almost 90% of Child and Adolescent Mental Health cases start treatment within target

December 3, 2024 johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland, today: 89.1% of children and young people started treatment within 18 weeks of referral, which is an increase from 84.1% for the previous quarter and from 75.6% for the same quarter ending September 2023. The Scottish Government standard states that 90% of children and young people should start treatment within 18 weeks of referral to CAMHS. 1 Sources: Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/ The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116 About Oliver Brown, the … Continue reading Almost 90% of Child and Adolescent Mental Health cases start treatment within target

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Tag: mental-health