Tag: nhs

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NHS Scotland waiting lists keep reducing as experts accuse NHS England of fiddling returns by up to 17% of their total

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From Stage of treatment waiting times New outpatients, inpatients and day cases, published yesterday, the above and: At 30 September 2026, there were an estimated 588,864 individuals on at least one new outpatient, inpatient or day case waiting list – a decrease of 2.2% compared to September 2025. This is equivalent to around 1 in 9 of Scotland’s population. In September 2026, 61.3% of these waits were completed in 12 weeks or less, down from 62.8% in August. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times-new-outpatients-inpatients-and-day-cases-27-october-2026/ Have any experts expressed concern with the accuracy of the figures from England? Yes. Several experts, think tanks, the independent statistics … Continue reading NHS Scotland waiting lists keep reducing as experts accuse NHS England of fiddling returns by up to 17% of their total

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Scottish Government advised care homes to isolate discharged hospital patients three weeks before other three UK nations saving unknown number of lives as nearly 3 000 were lost in England

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By stewartb The Covid Inquiry report on care homes identifies multiple, alleged ‘failings’ by government bodies and ministers. But whilst it makes clear the invidious decisions and trade-offs that faced the authorities, it seems to avoid drawing what is – perhaps to the lay person – the obvious conclusion that there was no ideal, harm-free approach to mitigating risks to care home residents AND the wider public needing hospitalisation available to governments across the UK as the pandemic took hold. In terms of mitigating the risks from discharges from hospitals to care homes, this from the Covid Inquiry report is … Continue reading Scottish Government advised care homes to isolate discharged hospital patients three weeks before other three UK nations saving unknown number of lives as nearly 3 000 were lost in England

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Most of these clinics compete with each other on alternative therapies and cosmetic practices not part of current NHS core remits

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In the Herald today, the above, and: A short flight of stone steps leads to the entrance of Health3 on St Vincent Street in Glasgow. The black-painted doorway, framed by chunky classical columns, looks more like the threshold of a private members’ club than a medical clinic. Inside, the owners have taken great care to make the practice look like anything but a doctor’s office. The dark walls and near-black woodwork, high ceilings topped with ornate cornicing, arches and a decorative cast-iron staircase are dripping in contemporary luxury. A waiting room, illuminated with pools of amber light, is decorated with … Continue reading Most of these clinics compete with each other on alternative therapies and cosmetic practices not part of current NHS core remits

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English Media say maternity care there is in a doom loop (no ”) but no matter how ‘our’ media try Scotland is not having England’s maternity crisis – It’s just a review

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In the Guardian today, the above with notably no speech marks around ‘doom loop’, and: The NHS Alliance has announced that up to 20 of the country’s 155 smaller, consultant-led maternity units, mostly in rural or coastal areas, might have to close, since their safety is in question. The problem – which will seem very pressing and obvious to anyone about to give birth, yet quite abstract and manageable to anyone who isn’t – is that those areas aren’t teeming with alternatives. There are women in Devon whose maternity hospital has been temporarily closed, whose next nearest hospital is 53 … Continue reading English Media say maternity care there is in a doom loop (no ”) but no matter how ‘our’ media try Scotland is not having England’s maternity crisis – It’s just a review

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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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In the Herald today: More than 30,000 NHS waits are still longer than a year despite a Scottish Government pledge to eradicate them by March. Last year, First Minister John Swinney set a target of March 2026 for no patient to wait longer than a year for their treatment. Important I’m sure but: Why A&E should take priority if resources force a choice Mortality evidence is clearer and more immediate for A&E delays. Excess deaths in the low tens of thousands annually are estimated from long emergency waits; equivalent quantified mortality impact is not shown for the current scale of … 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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An NHS Scotland ‘draft plan’ with no overall ‘public start date’ and only a change to a waiting time target, to help staff, expected in 2031, more than FOUR years away, is not a ‘secret blueprint’ Stupid

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In the Herald today, the above and: Surgeons, nurses and NHS staff have reacted with anger to a secret blueprint for a massive overhaul of orthopaedic surgery in Scotland. Most only learned of the bombshell report’s existence when The Herald revealed it on Friday. Ooooh, when is management going to impose this ‘secret blueprint’ on staff? The plan is still a confidential draft (“Transforming Elective Orthopaedic Care in Scotland 2026–2031”). There is no fixed public start date for the full package of changes, final details have not been published, and the Scottish Government has stated that engagement with staff and … Continue reading An NHS Scotland ‘draft plan’ with no overall ‘public start date’ and only a change to a waiting time target, to help staff, expected in 2031, more than FOUR years away, is not a ‘secret blueprint’ Stupid

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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 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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No matter how they try Scotland is not having England’s maternity crisis – It’s just a review

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BBC Scotland’s Lisa Summers trying to keep up the exaggerated image of the significance of Scotland’s National Maternity Review interviewing the Chair, Professor Christine McCourt and claiming that the review came ‘after’ the BBC Disclosure series discovered a series of safety failings. As with the other Reporting Scotland story today on violent crime, their piece on the Maternity ‘Review‘ is a desparate attempt to give NHS Scotland one of these: A rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services has been ordered by Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting. This is to provide truth and accountability for impacted … Continue reading No matter how they try Scotland is not having England’s maternity crisis – It’s just a review

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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