Tag: nhs

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Scotland’s pharmacy scheme ‘the model for England’ may reduce shortages problems

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In the Guardian today: Britons [sic] are facing some of the “most severe” shortages of NHS medicines on record including common painkillers, epilepsy drugs and HRT, health leaders have warned, even forcing some patients with impaired digestive systems to skip meals. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned that medicine shortages pose a “serious risk to patient safety”. The Royal College of GPs has also raised concerns about the impact medicine shortages have on patients, GPs and pharmacists. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/18/nhs-patients-face-worst-drug-shortages-on-record-say-pharmacists-and-gps BBC Breakfast 29 May 2026 told us the Scottish Government has long put in place a better model for pharmacies, repeatedly covered here but never in the … Continue reading Scotland’s pharmacy scheme ‘the model for England’ may reduce shortages problems

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Research by Royal College finds TWICE as many over 60s, per head of population, waiting more than 12 hours in NHS England’s A&E departments as in NHS Scotland – a political responsibility that can no longer be ignored there

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In the Guardian today: More than 1,300 patients a month in England are dying needlessly due to long A&E waits, a tenfold rise in a decade, figures suggest. There were more than 300 deaths linked to long waits every week in 2025, up from 30 a week in 2015, according to analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. The RCEM’s president, Dr Ian Higginson, said he wondered how many more deaths it would take before there was a meaningful plan to tackle the crisis. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/08/more-than-1300-deaths-a-month-in-england-due-to-long-ae-waits-figures-suggest As far as I can see the RCEM in Scotland have not persuaded the media here … Continue reading Research by Royal College finds TWICE as many over 60s, per head of population, waiting more than 12 hours in NHS England’s A&E departments as in NHS Scotland – a political responsibility that can no longer be ignored there

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The Daily Record’s front page today seeks to conceal how safety in NHS Scotland has impressed Nordic countries and pays out less than one sixth of the amount per head in malpractice claims paid in NHS England

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We’ve had to stop saying ‘a new low for the Record.’ There seems to be none. Today, we see them sickeningly exploiting an understandably upset father and using his words, only, to apparently confirm mistakes made in the death of his newborn child. I’m no more in a position to comment on that death than is the Record but I am able to tell you this: In 2023/2024 (latest) NHS Scotland payed out £47.3m for health-related complaints.1 All things being equal with ten times the population, you might expect the NHS England to be around £480m. It was £3.1bn! 2 … Continue reading The Daily Record’s front page today seeks to conceal how safety in NHS Scotland has impressed Nordic countries and pays out less than one sixth of the amount per head in malpractice claims paid in NHS England

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Sky News reports on dying during childbirth ‘in the UK’ and other maternity services concerns but it’s not ‘the UK’ it’s just England

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The Sky News special tonight on maternity services, ‘in the UK, is of course only about England. They go on quickly to relate their special to the forthcoming report by Baroness Amos and this along with the only example health trusts which they use, confirms that. Why? Baroness Amos looked only at England. Is the Sky News special likely to be informative on Scotland? No, because: Thousands of babies and mothers avoidably dead in maternity trusts, twelve trusts under investigation and two trusts face police investigations into potential corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter but all are in England From BBC West Yorkshire and across BBC TV News broadcasts, 23 February 2026 : Health … Continue reading Sky News reports on dying during childbirth ‘in the UK’ and other maternity services concerns but it’s not ‘the UK’ it’s just England

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Scotland’s pharmacy scheme ‘the model for England’ – to hear about Scotland watch BBC UK

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for England’s Pharmacy First BBC Breakfast this morning telling us the Scottish Government has long put in place a better model for pharmacies, repeatedly covered here but never in the MSM operating in Scotland. What’s it all about? In the Chemist and Druggist of April 10th 2024 Pharmacists in hospital, and in community pharmacies in Scotland, already routinely alter prescriptions for the benefit of patients. https://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/CD138095/One-slight-alteration-could-avert-a-crisis-as-medicine-shortages-deepen In the same journal in August that year: Scotland’s model for pharmacy offers lessons for England’s future As pharmacies in Scotland receive renewed government backing, Steve Anderson takes a look at the future of English pharmacy … Continue reading Scotland’s pharmacy scheme ‘the model for England’ – to hear about Scotland watch BBC UK

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NHS England has 23% fewer beds and too high occupancy and we know how that turns out in a pandemic

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From Acute hospital activity and NHS beds information (quarterly) Quarter ending 31 December 2025 published today: There were on average 13,550 available staffed beds per day for all acute specialties in the quarter ending 31 December 2025 – a 0.1% decrease compared to the same quarter in the previous year. An available staffed bed is a bed which is resourced for inpatient or day case care. Of these, 9,604 (71%) were for medical specialties and 3,946 (29%) were for surgical specialties. These percentages are unchanged from the same quarter in 2024. For all acute specialties in the quarter ending 31 … Continue reading NHS England has 23% fewer beds and too high occupancy and we know how that turns out in a pandemic

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NHS Scotland – only half the diagnostic scans outsourcing and building capability rather than just relying on private sector

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In the Guardian today: The NHS [England] is paying private firms record sums to analyse diagnostic scans because hospitals are too busy and understaffed to do the work themselves, research has revealed. The amount being spent on outsourced the interpretation of CT and MRI scans is “spiralling out of control” and reflects a short-sighted failure to train enough doctors, ministers are being told. Scans are vital for diagnosing diseases such as cancer and for monitoring patients’ responses to treatment, so they need to be done quickly. Many hospitals, however, rely on non-NHS health companies reading some scans to ensure they get the … Continue reading NHS Scotland – only half the diagnostic scans outsourcing and building capability rather than just relying on private sector

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NHS Highland director reveals child poverty in her previous Wales responsibility is predicted to be a shocking nearly 60% higher

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are living in poverty. BBC Scotland’s wee insert in BBC Breakfast this morning is announcing the above and, on their website: Public health director Jennifer Davies said that of its 12,834 under-fives, almost 22% lived in relative poverty. In a new report, Davies said the “sheer geographic scale” of the area – which covers the Highlands and Argyll and Bute – posed challenges in reaching health services for some families. She said they could benefit from greater availability of housing, improved transport links and investment in play spaces. Davies said support for families should also be strengthened to maximise access … Continue reading NHS Highland director reveals child poverty in her previous Wales responsibility is predicted to be a shocking nearly 60% higher

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Significantly fewer Scots dissatisfied with social care services but Royal College of Nursing lies to deny Scottish Government any possible satisfaction

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Treat negativity about Scotland’s NHS and social care services with healthy scepticism: evidence of the Royal College of Nursing being plain wrong and opting to omit relevant positives. My apologies to stewartb but I’ve used my perhaps unattractive unilateral editorial powers to replace his more mature header above with my more combative version at the top! By stewartb When political advocacy in advance of a parliamentary election takes by its own admission, a ‘gloves off‘ tone, it seems reasonable to point out a clear error in case-making. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) recently published this report: ‘The Nursing Workforce … Continue reading Significantly fewer Scots dissatisfied with social care services but Royal College of Nursing lies to deny Scottish Government any possible satisfaction

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Glasgow’s ‘Super-hospital’ is safer than the average in Scotland much safer than many in England and has been so for many years – this is a BBC ‘Witch hunt’

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the entire Queen Elisabeth University Hospital campus in Glasgow should be risk assessed. Who is this safety expert? for the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry and says it’s incredibly difficult to say whther the hospital is safe or unsafe for all patients. Only yesterday, we had confirmation in the form of official mortality statistics that the QEUH is safer than average in Scotland and far safer than several hospitals in England. See: Looking back over the years to the period of the Inquiry, here are the facts confirming the safety and rejecting Poplett’s attention seeking: In August 2025, BBC Scotland returned with … Continue reading Glasgow’s ‘Super-hospital’ is safer than the average in Scotland much safer than many in England and has been so for many years – this is a BBC ‘Witch hunt’