Jewellery entrepreneur lies about NHS Scotland to make case for increased private care though Oxford University has proved it will lead to worse patient care

By Professor John Robertson, OBA Thanks again to AR for alerting me to this. Gillian Bowditch is a columnist for The Sunday Times. She is founder of the personalised jewellery company Lily Blanche (lilyblanche.com)  and chair of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs (Scotland).  Today in the Times, she has this: Toxic Work Culture in the NHS is a matter of life and death Her argument is that toxic work environments in NHS Scotland are leading to worse care and thus unnecessary deaths, and that competition in healthcare will push standards up and, presumably, remove these. That she imagines the private … Continue reading Jewellery entrepreneur lies about NHS Scotland to make case for increased private care though Oxford University has proved it will lead to worse patient care

Oxford research proves Jackie Baillie’s support for UK Labour’s privatised health strategy will lead to ‘worse patient care’

By Professor John Robertson In the National today: Jackie Baillie has suggested the Scottish Government should follow Wes Streeting’s plans for heavier involvement of the private sector in the NHS. It comes after Streeting promised to go further than Tony Blair in making use of the private sector to ease NHS pressures. https://x.com/ScotNational/status/1810259280970268917 From Oxford University researchers reported in The Lancet, on 29 February 2024: A new review has concluded that hospitals that are privatised typically deliver worse quality care after converting from public ownership. The study, led by University of Oxford researchers, has been published in The Lancet Public Health. … Continue reading Oxford research proves Jackie Baillie’s support for UK Labour’s privatised health strategy will lead to ‘worse patient care’

NHS England almost 10 times more privatised per head than NHS Scotland after 16 years of SNP protection

Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ In recent years, NHS Scotland typically undertakes around 1 million procedures (operations) over the 12 months. As you might expect with 10 times the population, NHS England does around 10 million. Today in the Guardian, we can read: Private hospitals ‘cannibalising’ NHS in England by doing 10% of elective operations. Campaigners say health service cannot provide care quickly because of underinvestment, which is allowing firms to ‘make a killing’. Private hospitals performed 442,925 trauma … Continue reading NHS England almost 10 times more privatised per head than NHS Scotland after 16 years of SNP protection

It’s a no brainer – public assets should be publicly owned

Leah Gunn Barrett The Horizon-Fujitsu Post Office scandal is rooted in the UK government’s 2015 privatisation of a public service that had been state-owned (in England) for almost 500 years. It’s what happens when essential public services are sold off to private companies because the government is in thrall to an ideology that prizes profit maximisation over people.  The failing UK has zealously pursued this ideology to its natural conclusion – the complete collapse of public services and the immiseration of the people they’re intended to serve.  Essential services – health, water, energy, transport, mail, telecommunications – are more expensive … Continue reading It’s a no brainer – public assets should be publicly owned