Tag: scottish-government

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Already a better society after 17 years of SNP rule and Scottish universities buck UK trend to attract more not fewer international students

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In the Guardian today, their Education editor daft enough to to use a Glasgow Uni shot, writes: UK universities face financial turmoil as figures from the Home Office show plunging numbers of international students applying for courses starting in the next academic year. Applications for sponsored study visas have fallen by 40%, suggesting the visa restrictions applied by the previous government continue to hamper recruitment. The Home Office received 28,200 applications last month, compared with 38,900 in June 2023. But three days ago, BBC Scotland had: Net migration to Scotland more than doubled in the year between 2021 and 2022 – up to … Continue reading Already a better society after 17 years of SNP rule and Scottish universities buck UK trend to attract more not fewer international students

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Days before an election, Reporting Scotland and the rogue BMA Scotland rep tell us there is an NHS crisis but only in Scotland – The Facts say otherwise

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By Professor John Robertson In April 2024: BMA Scotland, headed up by Dr Iain Kennedy, who has now shed the union flag on his twitter account, have a piece on consultant vacancies all over the media from 06:30 this morning on BBC Scotland. They’ll have had this one oven-ready for some time now. Why today. From the real BMA in London today: The BMA England GP committee has warned health service officials that the profession is ‘now in dispute’ with NHS England following the overwhelming vote to reject the 2024/25 contract. Is the profession in dispute with NHS Scotland? The silence talks. … Continue reading Days before an election, Reporting Scotland and the rogue BMA Scotland rep tell us there is an NHS crisis but only in Scotland – The Facts say otherwise

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Answering Fiona Bruce’s dishonest selective long waiting list question AGAIN when NHS Scotland treats more than 14 times as many of those at risk of imminent death, per head of population, within 18 weeks!

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By Professor John Robertson Fiona Bruce tonight, asked the same question she had asked Kate Forbes last week: Why is it in Scotland there are 7 000 people who’ve waited more than two years for treatment. In England it’s just over 200. To my amazement, Forbes was not ready for it and neither was Swinney tonight. Here it is again. The UK Government and NHS England have been sneaky again, as they did when they began restarting the clock for A&E patients, after they had been triaged. They knew how the media feasted on stories of patients waiting more than two years … Continue reading Answering Fiona Bruce’s dishonest selective long waiting list question AGAIN when NHS Scotland treats more than 14 times as many of those at risk of imminent death, per head of population, within 18 weeks!

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Expert says Labour’s pledge to restore 18-week waits for life-threatening conditions in five years IS feasible even though they’re miles behind Scotland with only one fourteenth of the waiting list pro rata

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By Professor John Robertson Contrary to the BBC Scotland reporting, the 18 week target for life-threatening conditions is more important than the 2 year target for non-life-threatening, admittedly demoralising hip and knee surgery, on which we apparently do worse than NHS England after massive UK Government investment in private treatment for political ends. According to Rob Findlay of the Health Service Journal last June: The biggest task will be keeping up with demand. Beyond that, restoring 18 weeks in one term looks feasible. Unless he quickly u-turns again on this one, Starmer faces a big challenge to even catch NHS … Continue reading Expert says Labour’s pledge to restore 18-week waits for life-threatening conditions in five years IS feasible even though they’re miles behind Scotland with only one fourteenth of the waiting list pro rata

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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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Oz taxpayers pay for new wharves but must wait years for ferries in latest fiasco

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From the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday: Taxpayers have spent $78 million for two soon-to-be-opened ferry wharves near the entrance to Sydney’s Botany Bay, but the public faces a years-long wait for services between La Perouse and Kurnell because of state government indecision. and from the Leader: Transport Minister Jo Haylen and Coordinator General, Transport for NSW, Howard Collins were grilled by Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MP Mark Banasiak, who said it had “always been a dog of a project” and was “the epitome of white elephants”. Meanwhile in Scotland: By Professor John Robertson From the Scottish Government today and, of … Continue reading Oz taxpayers pay for new wharves but must wait years for ferries in latest fiasco

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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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Scotland’s ambulances FOUR times faster!

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In the Guardian today, from Poly Toynbee, one always keen to suggest things are bad in Scotland under the SNP: Jammed 999 lines and not enough ambulances to go round: come see the sharp end of this NHS crisis There’s no mention of Scotland in the Guardian report. In January 2024, I wrote: Via the BBC’s How long do patients wait for an ambulance? app today, we can confirm that the average waiting time for a Scottish ambulance is 8 min and 46 secs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59549800 Also, from BBC UK on 14 December 2023: Average response times of more than 38 minutes for category two emergency … Continue reading Scotland’s ambulances FOUR times faster!

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How are drugs coming into Scotland and from whom and where?

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Why Liverpool? This: Liverpool drugs gangs still have their eye on Scotland: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/liverpool-drugs-gangs-still-eye-25476347 By NMRN County lines Drug gangs is the missing part in all reports promoted by the media and politicians when in reference to drugs in Scotland…..yet one would have thought it was a hugely significant factor……a tactical omission ? Perhaps it is something the Justice secretary could seek to explore and have investigated as to the consequences it has upon Scotland and the problems with the drugs accessibility here……. where data could be published which would at least give the Scottish public a sense of how some drugs were coming into … Continue reading How are drugs coming into Scotland and from whom and where?

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Lessons From Australia on Scotland’s NHS 

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By Fraser Grant The Scottish media gave a lot of coverage to Dr Michael Mrozinski who told BBC Reporting Scotland on Thursday that blaming Covid for NHS failings was just spin.  This was eagerly picked up by The Scotsman (1) which then ran an editorial on Saturday headlined “Australia punctures SNP spin about NHS crisis” (2). However, the Australian health system is not as rosy as portrayed by Dr Michael Mrozinski, as a Victoria University publication on 15 December 2023 on the dire nursing shortage (3)  stated that “recent COVID-19 pandemic tested the resolve of many – if not most – nurses, with … Continue reading Lessons From Australia on Scotland’s NHS