Tag: news

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SNP to be first in Europe to eradicate child poverty as it surges under Cons and Labour

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As the SNP’s much lauded, revolutionary Child Payment begins to widen the gap between levels in Scotland and the rest of the UK, the First Minister, John Swinney has announced £16 million for childcare services to help deliver his vision of a Scotland free from child poverty: In a statement to Parliament, the First Minister set out the four priorities that will underpin the work of his government. He said eradicating child poverty would be his government’s single most important objective. Over the next two years, the Scottish Government will provide additional funding to expand access to childcare services within … Continue reading SNP to be first in Europe to eradicate child poverty as it surges under Cons and Labour

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Whooping cough medicine shortages – Pharmacists in Scotland, already routinely alter prescriptions for the benefit of patients

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By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today with not a reference to Scotland or anywhere in Scotland: UK pharmacists demand powers to change whooping cough prescriptions. Exclusive: Some pharmacies have turned away families because they have run out of the drug clarithromycin. Pharmacists are calling for fresh powers to provide patients with alternative prescriptions as they warned that drugs shortages are hampering their ability to tackle whooping cough. More than 2,700 cases have been reported across England so far in 2024 – more than three times the number recorded in the whole of last year. But some pharmacies have … Continue reading Whooping cough medicine shortages – Pharmacists in Scotland, already routinely alter prescriptions for the benefit of patients

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FACTCHECK – The SIX key NHS waiting lists which are shorter, sometimes only half as long, in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson Important note for some readers – England has 10 times the population so to be fair to them, where they are not already in the form of percentages, I’ve divided their waiting lists by 10. All sources below. Yes, I know, drug deaths. [i] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/11/number-waiting-for-nhs-care-for-serious-heart-problems-in-england-rises-fivefold [ii] https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24091977.cardiology-waiting-lists-at-highest-level-record [iii] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/03/almost-10-million-people-in-england-could-be-on-nhs-waiting-list [iv] https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-stage-of-treatment/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times-inpatients-day-cases-and-new-outpatients-quarter-ending-31-december-2023/ [v] https://rcem.ac.uk/data-statistics/ [vi] https://publichealthscotland.scot/our-areas-of-work/acute-and-emergency-services/urgent-and-unscheduled-care/accident-and-emergency/#section-3-2 [vii] https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2024-25/ [viii] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-63573718 [ix] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59549800 [x] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67714151 Continue reading FACTCHECK – The SIX key NHS waiting lists which are shorter, sometimes only half as long, in Scotland

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Another ‘big’ Labour election promise worth titchy amount as Scotland’s share and might improve only 2 or 3 harbours

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By Professor John Robertson They did something comparably thick when they promised to increase GP appointments and, when you worked out Scotland’s 8% share, it was a less than a half of 1% increase. Here it’s a whopping £1.8 billion ‘Scotland’s facilities will benefit from‘ so, 8% for us, £144 million. The new Stornoway harbour alone, just completed and paid for by the Scottish Government, cost £60 million. Gee I wonder how much the Scottish Government has already committed to in its Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26 : Energy and Manufacturing? Total: almost £2 billion So, from Labour, 7.2%. … Continue reading Another ‘big’ Labour election promise worth titchy amount as Scotland’s share and might improve only 2 or 3 harbours

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Scottish Labour and the Glasgow Yorkhill infected blood scandal

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According to the Guardian in April 2024, cheap infected blood products based on blood from Arkansas prisoners began to be used across the UK after the Labour Government, in 1976, signed the deal, despite warnings from experts. Today, BBC Scotland repeats: One area where Scotland differed from the rest of the UK is that the vast majority of infections came from its own blood donations. In the 1970s and 80s, the country was largely self-sufficient in blood products. and you have to read on to find: Although most of the blood used in Scotland was from Scottish donations, the exception … Continue reading Scottish Labour and the Glasgow Yorkhill infected blood scandal

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Blood scandal – SNP inquiry in 2007, first in UK, led to better support system than in rest of UK

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By Professor John Robertson The broadcasts today don’t mention this and you have to read down to the bottom of this BBC Scotland report to find this: Scotland was the first part of the UK to commission a public inquiry into infected blood. It had been a key election pledge of the SNP government when it came to power in 2007, and was carried out by Scottish judge Lord Penrose. But the Penrose inquiry lacked the full statutory powers to compel witnesses from outside of Scotland to give evidence, and until 1999 health policy had been controlled by Westminster. Campaigner … Continue reading Blood scandal – SNP inquiry in 2007, first in UK, led to better support system than in rest of UK

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Sorting child poverty the Scottish way – the Archbishop, the Bishop, the thinktank Chief Exec, the editor and Gordon Brown all avoid looking north

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By Professor John Robertson Again, alerted by Dottie’s Phone You won’t be surprised to hear there’s not a word, from this Labour Party elder, of Scotland’s far lower child poverty nor of how the SNP’s child payment is leading to its disappearance in Scotland, nor of Labour’s refusal to end the cruel two-child benefit cap, if elected. Maybe the Archbishop will mention poverty in Scotland and the Child Benefit? Not a word. It turns out the Bishop of Leicester too had a piece in the Guardian yesterday. He doesn’t know about Scotland either, it seems, but does mention Labour, if … Continue reading Sorting child poverty the Scottish way – the Archbishop, the Bishop, the thinktank Chief Exec, the editor and Gordon Brown all avoid looking north

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LATEST SHOCK: Scotland’s waiting list for heart treatment is barely half that per head of NHS England!

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By Professor John Robertson Many thanks to Dottie’s Phone for alerting me to this. The Guardian today has this shocking news: The British Heart Foundation (BHF) warns that heart care waiting lists are now at a record high, reaching 414,596 at the end of March 2024 in England, almost double what it was in 2020. In February 2024, the British Heart Foundation felt this was shocking for Scotland: Between March 2019 and September 2023, the number of people waiting for an outpatient appointment rose from 8,562 to 23,027. In the last year alone, the waiting list has grown by more than … Continue reading LATEST SHOCK: Scotland’s waiting list for heart treatment is barely half that per head of NHS England!

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The 30 year-long neglect of patient safety in NHS England exposed as SNP Government records 17 years of its ‘at the very top pillar’ safety programme first launched by Nicola Sturgeon

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By Professor John Robertson Many thanks to Dotty’s Phone for alerting me to this. Today, the Health Editor at the Sunday Times has reported: Why don’t things get better on #patientsafety? One reason is that the NHS & government do sweet FA to act on inquiry recommendations. The @Thirlwall_Inq [led by a senior judge] has published a comprehensive assessment of the last 30 years of inquiries. It is not a good read: https://thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/2024/05/17/review-of-previous-recommendations-published/ More from the thread following the above comments, at: https://x.com/ShaunLintern/status/1791508298404950168 The above report is getting very little coverage anywhere and certainly will not be used by Scotland’s … Continue reading The 30 year-long neglect of patient safety in NHS England exposed as SNP Government records 17 years of its ‘at the very top pillar’ safety programme first launched by Nicola Sturgeon

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Exposure to carcinogens in Faslane

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In May 2024: Silence is revealing? In May 2023: QUESTIONS are hanging over the safety of Britain’s nuclear arsenal after it was revealed there were 58 radiation leaks at Trident facilities in Scotland this year so far. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has revealed there were 15 recorded radiation leaks at Coulport and a further 43 at Faslane in 2023 as of April – but said none were considered “serious”. https://www.thenational.scot/news/23545590.trident-mod-confirms-50-radiation-leaks-year/ In March 2016: Twenty workers at the Faslane nuclear submarine base were exposed to radiation due to safety errors, newly-released documents have revealed. The engineers were repairing a leaking … Continue reading Exposure to carcinogens in Faslane