Is the NHS equipped to deal with floods, gales and heatwaves of extreme weather? Can democracy Deliver in Time?We knew it was coming. The IPCC special report on Climate Change ('code red for humanity') should leave no-one in any doubt that we cannot afford to waste more time on promises yet to be delivered. We've been good at promises in Scotland as well as the rest of the … [Read more...] about NHS alert: code red for climate change
Health inequality
Emergency: close the gap between real life and government ‘FACTS’
Tested positive? Stay at home. Can’t afford to take time off work? The Scottish Government has an answer. From 16 February more people on low pay can apply for a £500 grant to self-isolate. But is that enough? Will it help to stop the spread of infection and reduce deaths from Covid? Such questions – and the time-consuming bureaucracy attached to the £500 grant – reveal the … [Read more...] about Emergency: close the gap between real life and government ‘FACTS’
It hurts us all: who can heal Scotland’s health inequality?
She is a small figure in black clothes etched on the white hospital bed. When no-one seems close enough to hear she murmurs a low groan. Marianne is in pain, I feel sure, but she makes a determined job of hiding it. “I’m feeling fine. I could go back to work right now, I could.” she insists. The surgical team doesn’t sound so sure. Marianne (not her real name) arrived in … [Read more...] about It hurts us all: who can heal Scotland’s health inequality?
No magic cure for Scotland’s stubborn health inequality
Scottish devolution began in 1999 with high aspirations and ambitions that the new form of Scottish government would be transformative. Recent evidence of the failure to reduce health inequality casts doubt that increasing powers will necessarily lead to enhanced governance and effectiveness in any one particular policy area. The mantra of ‘increased powers’ for the Scottish … [Read more...] about No magic cure for Scotland’s stubborn health inequality