dgp4indy

Health & the NHS

Improving The Lives Of Disabled People

The Scottish government’s action plan announced yesterday, includes:

  • Up to £1 million to develop solutions to the barriers employers face in hiring and retaining disabled people
  • Up to £500,000 to pilot the provision of support similar to Access to Work to disabled people undertaking work experience or work trials
  • A new support service to help disabled people for who more mainstream employment support is not suitable
  • Appointing a business leader to advise Ministers on the steps to reduce the perceived risk of recruiting those with fluctuating health conditions
  • Developing targets for the employment of disabled people within the Scottish Government’s own workforce
    https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com/2018/12/12/scotlands-continuing-efforts-to-improve-the-lives-of-disabled/

"Transformational" Life Sciences Project In Aberdeen

£40m has been invested to create a hub to drive health innovation and life sciences company growth in Aberdeen. With a goal to double the number of life sciences companies in North East Scotland and support the national ambitions for the sector to collaborate, innovate and commercialise the next generation of therapies and healthcare solutions, the hub has been hailed as “transformational”.
http://www.businessforscotland.com/transformational-project-to-double-the-number-of-life-sciences-companies-in-aberdeen/

New Strategy To Take A "Health Approach" To Substance Abuse

THE Scottish Government’s new strategy on drugs & alcohol will seek to treat wider structural problems like housing and employment issues, taking “a health approach” to the issue of substance abuse. The strategy, published today [28 November] includes a “public health approach to criminal justice” where “vulnerable people are diverted from the justice system wherever possible, and those within justice settings are fully supported”, suggesting a move away from criminalisation approaches associated with ‘the war on drugs’, a strategy which has been widely condemned by criminal justice experts.
https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/13609/new-drug-alcohol-strategy-take-health-approach-substance-abuse

Scottish Student Nurse And Midwifery Numbers Reach Record High

‘Student nursing and midwifery places will increase for the seventh consecutive year, reaching record levels, with the intake rising by 7.6% to more than 4,000. As announced by the First Minister in October, all eligible nursing and midwifery students across Scotland will benefit from an increased bursary in 2019/20, rising to £10,000 a year in 2020/21. Upping intake for the 2019/20 academic year is one of a number of measures to support the sustained recruitment and retention of NHS staff. In addition to the increase in student places, almost 460 former nurses and midwives have signed up to retrain through the Return to Practice programme, since 2015. The Scottish Government is also funding the Open University to deliver a pre-registration programme, currently supporting around 116 nursing students.’ Contrast with the situation in England.
https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com/2018/11/10/scottish-student-nurse-and-midwifery-numbers-reach-record-high-as-they-plummet-in-toryland/