Tag: nhs

20 Comments

How under Scottish Labour, hospitals were ‘death traps’ of hospital acquired infections and how Nicola Sturgeon sorted it

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA I’m grateful to one of our Anons and to Arty Hetty for alerting me to this, in the wake of Jackie Baillie’s scurrilous misuse of statistics to suggest Scotland’s hospitals were ‘death traps‘ for old folk falling. People should be reminded that when JB was in government Scottish hospitals were death traps due to hospital acquired infections, which were affecting 10% of patients when Labour left office. The rate has now been halved and Scotland’s rate is lower than that in England and lower than the OECD average. I had a friend who worked at major … Continue reading How under Scottish Labour, hospitals were ‘death traps’ of hospital acquired infections and how Nicola Sturgeon sorted it

1 Comment

How much will the current doctor strikes and imminent nurse strikes further widen the already massive gap between Scotland’s NHS waiting list and that in England

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian yesterday, the above and: NHS bosses and the British Medical Association are accusing each other of endangering patients during the ongoing resident doctors’ strike. Their war of words centres on “derogations”, local agreements under which doctors who have joined the strike can cross picket lines to provide clinical care in a hospital. The escalation of the resident doctors’ pay dispute comes as it emerged that nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have voted to reject their 3.6% pay award for this year. Scotland’s media are very quiet on this issue yet with the … Continue reading How much will the current doctor strikes and imminent nurse strikes further widen the already massive gap between Scotland’s NHS waiting list and that in England

2 Comments

In Day 4 of their Junior Doctor strike an NHS England nurse strike looms – How Scottish Government enabled higher pay deal for already better-paid Scottish nurses to once more prevent the loss of tens of thousands of appointments and to save thousands of lives

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Headlining on BBC Breakfast this morning and on their website, the above, and this: Nurses are expected to reject their pay award in England this week, raising the possibility of strikes later in the year, the BBC understands. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been holding a consultative vote on their 3.6% pay rise, previously describing it as “grotesque” to award nurses a lower increase than doctors, teachers, prison officers and the armed forces. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ge4905eq7o The Scottish Government has already agreed a 4.25% deal for this year, for nurses and midwives.  https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-staff-pay/ Scotland’s media will no doubt portray this … Continue reading In Day 4 of their Junior Doctor strike an NHS England nurse strike looms – How Scottish Government enabled higher pay deal for already better-paid Scottish nurses to once more prevent the loss of tens of thousands of appointments and to save thousands of lives

5 Comments

As resident (junior) doctor strikes begin today in NHS England, SNP settlement praised by BMA means NHS Scotland set to avoid thousands of excess deaths again

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA After the last set of Junior Doctor strikes in 2023/2024, there were serious concerns about postponed appointments and excess deaths due to these. Above, the shocking picture of 52 out of the last 365 when doctors were on strike in England. There were no days lost to action in Scotland. According to the Guardian on 10 January 2025, junior doctor strikes caused around 1.3 million appointments to be cancelled. Had there been comparable action in Scotland, around 130 000 appointments would have been lost. According to the Telegraph on 2 January, there were nearly 53 000 … Continue reading As resident (junior) doctor strikes begin today in NHS England, SNP settlement praised by BMA means NHS Scotland set to avoid thousands of excess deaths again

6 Comments

As resident (junior) doctor strikes loom in NHS England, SNP settlement praised by BMA means NHS Scotland set to avoid thousands of excess deaths again

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: In a letter to the NHS chief executive, Sir Jim Mackey, the BMA council chair, Dr Tom Dolphin, and the deputy council chair, Dr Emma Runswick, said: “Your decision to instruct hospitals to run non-urgent planned care stretches safe staffing far too thinly, and risks not only patient safety in urgent and emergency situations, but in planned care, too. “Consultants cannot safely provide elective care and cover for residents at the same time. We therefore strongly urge you to reconsider your instructions to hospitals, which should be preparing now … Continue reading As resident (junior) doctor strikes loom in NHS England, SNP settlement praised by BMA means NHS Scotland set to avoid thousands of excess deaths again

2 Comments

Leading health think tank praises new framework for population health co-created by Scottish Government and COSLA

johnrobertson834

– ‘this is a major step forward’ –  ‘Despite the now released Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan, England has nothing equivalent’ – ‘England would do well to draw inspiration from its neighbour’. By stewartb A respected think tank focusing on health and care in England, the King’s Fund published (July 14) a blog post with the headline: ‘What can English health policy learn from Scotland? A coherent policy approach to population health.’ Source: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/blogs/scotland-coherent-policy-approach-population-health It describes the King’s Fund’s longstanding advocacy of a stronger focus in England on population health through promoting the ‘integration for health, as … Continue reading Leading health think tank praises new framework for population health co-created by Scottish Government and COSLA

1 Comment

A free offer of a story for the mainstream media ‘serving’ Scotland: the Labour government’s new ambition for NHS England – no more than 10% of patients spending 12 hours in A&E – sets a threshold that NHS Scotland has NEVER EVER failed to better- NEVER worse than 8% and almost always very much lower! Why?

johnrobertson834

stewartb The Royal College of Emergency Medicine issued a press statement (July 2) entitled: ‘RCEM Response to NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025’. This is part of the much heralded reforms to improve NHS services in England from the British Labour Party government in Westminster. I have little doubt that the same party in the run up to the 2026 Holyrood election, with the help of its mainstream media allies, will be telling us to vote Labour in order to get similar super-duper ‘change’ implemented for NHS Scotland. So what does the RCEM say about Labour’s plan for … Continue reading A free offer of a story for the mainstream media ‘serving’ Scotland: the Labour government’s new ambition for NHS England – no more than 10% of patients spending 12 hours in A&E – sets a threshold that NHS Scotland has NEVER EVER failed to better- NEVER worse than 8% and almost always very much lower! Why?

19 Comments

Dear England, we can help you see through the media spin distorting your reality

johnrobertson834

Brenda Robb Today the media are full of articles, opinion pieces and comments on UK Labour’s plan to transform the NHS. We in Scotland would like to check if you are happy with what is being said because we have considerable experience of political & media spin distorting the real issues. Wes Streeting is offering a 3 pronged approach. Let’s start with the digital app, the doctor in your pocket. This promises several things – unprecedented control over your care, instant access to health advice, organising appointments made easier. It all sounds good doesn’t it? But take the health advice, … Continue reading Dear England, we can help you see through the media spin distorting your reality

4 Comments

The BMA UK – a more serious, objective trade union than its lead in Scotland, Dr Kennedy?

johnrobertson834

By stewartb The BMA may be a more serious, objective trade union than its lead in Scotland – based on his highly politicised statements using language designed for use in headlines by mainstream media opposed to the present Scottish Government – makes it appear! Below are some of its analysis and insights on the state of NHS England. Not a positive picture but even. so I can’t find a BMA spokesperson claiming that NHS England is ‘dying’ – and for the avoidance of doubt, England has long had a substantial number of people using private healthcare, a number which is … Continue reading The BMA UK – a more serious, objective trade union than its lead in Scotland, Dr Kennedy?

3 Comments

NHS Scotland caring for 8% of the population but with not one of the five major maternity crises and a system that is ‘equitable’

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today: Health Secretary Wes Streeting, has said “we must act now” as he announced a national investigation into maternity care in England. The announcement comes after a series of critical reports into maternity care over the past decade. Dr Clea Harmer, chief executive of the baby loss charity Sands, said the national investigation was “much-needed and long-overdue”. The ‘Scottish’ media are quiet. If they had something, they’d be all over it like nappy rash. I searched for ‘Scotland maternity inspections substandard‘ – only English ‘hits’. I searched the Healthcare Improvement Scotland site – … Continue reading NHS Scotland caring for 8% of the population but with not one of the five major maternity crises and a system that is ‘equitable’