Tag: news

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Pharmacists in England look to Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Guardian today: Pharmacy closures in England threaten plan to use them instead of GPs for some care There’s no mention of Scotland, of course. The Herald and the Glasgow Times are just repeating the the same story with no mention of Scotland. From May 2023, here’s why: Scotland scheme ‘more patient-focused’ Pharmacists in England look to Scotland, where a scheme called Pharmacy First includes a contract between the sector and the Scottish government setting out what services are expected, with payment for every consultation. These cover minor ailments and illnesses, some of which might once have … Continue reading Pharmacists in England look to Scotland

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Arran – history of remarkable transformation enabled by a ferry service delivered by a publicly-owned company subsidised by tax payers across Scotland.

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stewartb How hard is it for companies operating on Arran – how hard relative to businesses elsewhere? The ‘Auchrannie Resort’ is one of the largest, plushest hotel, spa and leisure offerings to tourists visiting Arran. It must be one of the island’s largest companies and wholly dependent on its customers wanting to – and being able to – get to the island. On the home page of its web site its states: ‘Did you know that 750,000 journeys are made to and from Arran each year?’ The company web site describes its history in the following terms: ‘Auchrannie was acquired by … Continue reading Arran – history of remarkable transformation enabled by a ferry service delivered by a publicly-owned company subsidised by tax payers across Scotland.

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Police Chiefs celebrate 6 years of disrupting County Lines gang terror and the need for a Scottish Coordinator, ‘recognising the lines from England that impact this part of the UK’

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The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC), part of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and funded by the Home Office marks six years of disrupting County lines drug gangs, today.  Since 2018, 5 627 lines have been closed, more than 16,500 people arrested and 8,800 individuals safeguarded. Every policing region in England and Wales has a dedicated NCLCC Co-ordinator and analytical resource to measure this threat and access to the Continuous Improvement Team to support with their force response to County Lines. In addition, there is a programme funded Co-ordinator in Scotland, recognising the lines from England that impact … Continue reading Police Chiefs celebrate 6 years of disrupting County Lines gang terror and the need for a Scottish Coordinator, ‘recognising the lines from England that impact this part of the UK’

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Scotland’s homeless surge is due to UK Home Office failures and not ‘failed and distracted SNP government’ as it falls among all but very recent immigrants

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Thanks to AR for alerting me to this. BBC Scotland’s report, Homeless people living in temporary accommodation hits record high, yesterday, on homelessness increases in Scotland, focusses on one case of a mother and child, the statistics indicating ‘the highest since Scottish government records began in 2002‘ and platforming Miles Briggs, Conservative Housing Spokesperson and Scottish Labour’s Mark Griffin, to say: Scottish Conservative housing spokesman Miles Briggs said the “scandalous figures should be a source of shame for SNP ministers”. He added: “After 17 years of this failed and distracted SNP government, it is clear that they are part of … Continue reading Scotland’s homeless surge is due to UK Home Office failures and not ‘failed and distracted SNP government’ as it falls among all but very recent immigrants

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Hospital where 4 babies were fed contaminated food and one died, had ‘entirely unsafe system’ but Health Secretary not to blame

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dorothy for alerting me to this: In the Guardian today: An NHS trust that gave four newborn babies contaminated feed has admitted that it was operating “an entirely unsafe system” at the time they became infected. The admission came during evidence by a senior doctor at Guy’s and St Thomas’ trust (GSTT), who led its investigation into the outbreak, during an inquest into how one of the very premature babies died. Not in the Guardian report, any mention of the then Conservative Government or the Conservative Health Secretary at the time, or of any comment by … Continue reading Hospital where 4 babies were fed contaminated food and one died, had ‘entirely unsafe system’ but Health Secretary not to blame

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Health authorities in England carefully hid MMR vaccine levels as deadly measles cases surged across country and into Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Today, from Public Health Scotland: 92.8% of children had the first dose of MMR vaccine by 24 months of age. This rose to 95.8% for children who had reached age five. Uptake of the second dose of MMR vaccine by 5 years was 89.4%, rising to 91.1% by age 6 years.1 There are several authorities, GOV.UK, NHS England, even the BMJ, reporting a ‘successful boost’ in the number of MMR vaccines administered to young children in 2024, (but not in London!) after the Measles surge earlier in the year. None seem prepared to tell what the … Continue reading Health authorities in England carefully hid MMR vaccine levels as deadly measles cases surged across country and into Scotland

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SNP Minister’s second letter to Liz Kendall ignored by media

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Two days ago, the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice Shirley-Anne Somerville wrote again to the UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall: Dear Liz, I am writing to you to express further concerns, following the publication of the UK Government’s equality analysis on the impact of the introduction of a means-tested Winter Fuel Payments, which shows that across all assessed characteristics those affected by this change in policy will greatly outnumber those unaffected. The Scottish Government continues to support vulnerable households from fuel poverty through a range of actions within our limited devolved powers. This year alone, we are spending £134 … Continue reading SNP Minister’s second letter to Liz Kendall ignored by media

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Prisoner release in Scotland – far fewer than England and no quick re-offending unlike in England

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald above today, typically insensitive, exploitative and ill informed. In England, last week: Similar in Scotland? Nope, despite our media rats sniffing everywhere. The facts? Anyone for facts? There are currently 8 348 prisoners in Scotland’s prisons.2 From Audit Scotland in December 2023: SPS has advised that as at November 2023 the extended operating capacity that the prison estate can accommodate is 8,475.3 So, 127 places still available for a population only one eleventh of the population of England and Wales. They should have at least 1 400 but have ‘less than 100’, only a fourteenth! Sources: … Continue reading Prisoner release in Scotland – far fewer than England and no quick re-offending unlike in England

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English newspaper looks 10 000 miles south to report opioid crisis in Australia but fails to notice a solution launched THIRTEEN years ago just 400 miles to the north

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Guardian today has: Australian demand for overdose drug naloxone more than doubles after spike in synthetic opioid deaths but no mention of Scotland in the report. Why might it have? This: Scotland was the first country in the world [2011] to introduce a national naloxone programme, empowering individuals, families, friends and communities to reverse an opiate overdose. https://www.gov.scot/policies/alcohol-and-drugs/naloxone-provision/#:~:text=Scotland%20was%20the%20first%20country,years%20from%202011%20to%202016. From Public Health Scotland in August 2021: Since the establishment of the National Naloxone Programme in 2011/12:• 74,629 THN kits have been issued by services based in the community.• 8,793 THN kits have been issued by prisons … Continue reading English newspaper looks 10 000 miles south to report opioid crisis in Australia but fails to notice a solution launched THIRTEEN years ago just 400 miles to the north

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The Jay Report on the criminal exploitation of children mentions Scotland 106 times but BBC Scotland ignore it and this is why

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In August 2024, BBC South Yorkshire had: Rotherham child abuse: What was the Jay Report? I thought: ‘Yes what was the Jay Report?’ I don’t remember my taxpayer-funded, public service broadcaster, with an official policy to inform and educate me, telling me about it . I tried ‘BBC Scotland Jay Report’ but got only the comedian Jay Lafferty. I found it myself. It begins: The facts of criminal exploitation paint a stark picture: tens of thousands of children and young people across the country are controlled and manipulated by criminal gangs, while countless more are … Continue reading The Jay Report on the criminal exploitation of children mentions Scotland 106 times but BBC Scotland ignore it and this is why