Public Health Scotland

World Aids Day is marked on December 1 (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

HIV is now a manageable condition like diabetes, yet stigma and ignorance remain

NHS Scotland funding crisis: Healthcare service facing £395m deficit

Research from Public Health Scotland shows that between March 31 2013 and March 31 2023, there was a 19 per cent drop in the number of care homes for adults.

One in five homes have closed in past decade amid 'not prepared' warning

There is now increased availability for vaccinations.

Don’t Let Your Protection Fade – It’s not too late

Old wounds are being opened by the Scottish Covid Inquiry, but it is a necessary process in order to heal, writes health correspondent Joseph Anderson.

Brave, tearful Covid inquiry testimony reminds us of those lost

Two of Scotland’s worst performing A&E health boards say they are continuing to experience “extreme pressures”

How long patients have to wait at your local A&E

Scots in some regions of the country are facing average waits of nearly a year for dental surgery.

The health boards with the biggest dentistry waiting times in Scotland

Why does the row about the Scottish Government's Covid WhatsApp matter?

A blood test for diabetes. Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

The growing cost of diabetes in Scotland as cases continue to rise

A graphic that will be used in the Terrence Higgins Trust's anti-stigma campaign, an HIV awareness TV campaign.

The changing face of HIV in Scotland, as told by TV advertisements

Humza Yousaf addressed the SNP conference for the first time as party leader, where he pledged an extra £300 million for the NHS to cut waiting lists. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images)

Yousaf warned NHS pledge 'not worth the paper its written on' without workforce

The number of Scots set to be diagnosed with cancer is set to rise by nearly a quarter

Scotland faces 'ticking timebomb' as cancer rates set to explode

Is harmful drinking a uniquely Scottish problem?

A survey found 43 per cent said they had learned more about sexual health from TikTok than they did at school

The supposed link between TikTok and Scotland's increasing abortion numbers

Those eligible are encouraged to take up the vaccination offer when it comes

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The winter Covid vaccine programme has been brought forward due to a new variant. Image: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images.

Covid winter vaccine programme brought forward due to fears for new variant

Alcohol is currently worth around £8.1bn to the Scottish economy, although 60 per cent of this is from whisky exports. Picture: Getty Images

Watchdog orders 'minor' updates over 'cherry picking' alcohol deaths report

According to PHS, the meta-analysis shows that MUP “has reduced deaths directly caused by alcohol consumption by an estimated 13.4 per cent and hospital admissions by 4.1 per cent, with the largest reductions seen in men and those living in the 40 per cent most deprived areas”.

Government could ban alcohol ads and raise MUP rate to curb drink deaths

Scotsman comment: Poverty, not pricing, is cause of drink problem Scotsman Comment

The latest alcohol-specific deaths statistics raise an interesting question - if public health policies are effective, why is the number of deaths increasing?

Analysis: If MUP is effective, then why are alcohol deaths increasing?

File photo dated 01/12/06 of a man drinking a pint of beer, as campaigners are urging people to show compassion towards those who have lost someone due to alcohol or other drugs in an effort to reduce the stigma associated with alcohol-related deaths.

Latest figures on alcohol deaths due today as campaign launched

Exclusive ‘Hundreds of deaths’ missing from Scotland's drug statistics

The latest Public Health Scotland statistics showed that 7,924 patients in A&E waited longer than four hours to be dealt with.

Fears over “completely avoidable” deaths due to worsening A&E waiting times

Minimum alcohol price should encourage other life-saving public health policies Tamasin Knight

The proportion of adults who reported themselves to be current smokers in 2021 was 11 percent, down from 28 per cent in 2003.

Does the government have the right to tell you what to do with your own body?

In some parts of Scotland as much as 75 per cent of the population are overweight.

20 Scottish areas with the highest proportion of overweight people

Scotland's drug-deaths rate is far higher than the rest of the UK and Europe (Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

'Appalling' scale of drug crisis revealed as more than 100 die in a month

Public Health Scotland (PHS) has investigated a spike in deaths among children between four weeks and one year old which occurred last April.

Scottish health chiefs reassure public following spike in baby deaths

The price of alcohol could be increased by the Scottish Government (Picture: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Ministers must listen to retailers over proposed MUP alcohol rate increase

The Federation of Independent Retailers said an increase to 80p would go too far

Alarm over plans to raise Scotland’s minimum unit alcohol price to 80p

Minimum unit pricing is not a cure-all for problem drinking John McLaren

Alcohol for sale in an Edinburgh off-licence.

Tories report Yousaf to statistics watchdog over ' misleading' alcohol report

According to PHS, MUP “has reduced deaths directly caused by alcohol consumption by an estimated 13.4 per cent

Calls for Scotland to make alcohol more expensive amid minimum pricing report

From food production to beyond the checkout: Helping Scottish firms and consumers manage food safety and healthy eating

Ad Feature How Food Standards Scotland is keeping us safe through the food chain

As of March 31, 7,849 Scots had been waiting over two years for inpatient, outpatient or day care treatment from NHS Scotland

NHS Scotland's waiting times 'demonstrably worse' than south of the border

First Minister Humza Yousaf during a visit to Castlebrae Community Campus in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Scottish Government misses huge target pledged by Yousaf as waiting times rise

NHS Scotland’s emergency care is “not functioning as it should”, a top medic has claimed

Thousands wait more than 12 hours for emergency care in Scotland

(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The latest illicit drug trends reported by police and health workers

Waiting times in Scotland’s emergency departments have worsened, with less than two-thirds of patients seen in the four-hour target, new figures show.

Less than two-thirds of A&E patients seen in four hours as waiting times worsen

NHS services are still coming under “significant pressure”, the Health Secretary said, as the latest figures showed more than a third of patients in accident and emergency are having to wait longer than the target time for help.

More than a third of patients waited over four hours in A&E – figures

Less than two-thirds of recent attendances at accident and emergency units were seen in the four-hour target time, according to figures published as the Health Secretary prepares to step up to become first minister.

Latest A&E figures show less than two-thirds seen within four-hour target

Minister for Health and Social Care Humza Yousaf before the start of First Minster's Questions (FMQs) in the main chamber of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Humza Yousaf would consider raising the price of alcohol under MUP

Edinburgh during recent snowy weather (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images)

NHS Scotland: A&E waiting times and Covid-19 surged during cold snap

Scotland's outgoing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chairs her final Cabinet meeting at Bute House. She has described the minimum unit pricing scheme as one of her proudest achievements while in office. Picture: Andy Buchanan - Pool/Getty Images

Sturgeon hails minimum unit pricing as one of her proudest achievements

Minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol has been linked to a 13% drop in deaths from alcohol consumption, according to a study. Jane Barlow/PA Wire.

MUP led to 150 fewer alcohol deaths a year, researchers claim

According to the latest Public Health Scotland data, just 65.3 per cent of the 97,659 patient attendances at Scottish emergency departments in January were seen within the Scottish Government’s target of four hours.

Estimated 64 patients die each month due to 'dangerously long waiting times'

Alcohol for sale in an Edinburgh supermarket as Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing for drinks.

How successful has minimum unit pricing been in Scotland?

Official statistics testify to the fact Scotland has a problem with alcohol.

Figures lay bare Scotland's problematic relationship with alcohol

Renee MacRae, 36, and three-year-old Andrew

Renee and Andrew MacRae murderer William MacDowell dies in prison

The Scottish Government is considering restricting the marketing of alcohol. Picture: John Devlin

Alcohol advertising ban: How far will the Scottish Government go and why?

Alison Douglas, Chief Executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, photographed at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

Scotland's drinking problem: “All Scots know a life lost or blighted by alcohol”

New research suggests that industry performance post-MUP was characterised by lower volumes of sales but higher prices.

MUP report 'gives the lie' to 'exaggerated' Scottish whisky claims

The latest strep A surveillance data from Public Health Scotland shows that the recent increases in cases of GAS may be declining

Strep A: Scots urged to be 'patient' with pharmacists when buying antibiotics

Two more people in Scotland have died with Strep A infection since last week, according to the latest data.

Two more Strep A deaths in Scotland - Public Health Scotland confirms

There were 109 suspected drug deaths in November 2022, higher than in the same month in 2020 and 2021, when the number was 93 and 89, respectively.

Scottish drug deaths increase amid synthetic opioid warning

A new report suggests Scots are much more likely to suffer stroke than residents of the rest of the UK.

Scots a third more likely to suffer stroke than rest of UK

The Scotsman Top Stories

Scotland has failed to meet its latest target for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the latest official figures show. Picture: John Giles/PA Wire

Fail: Scotland misses climate target

Pro-independence protesters with Scottish Saltire flags (top) march for Scottish independence. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

Yousaf: Growing popular support for Yes the only way to Scottish independence

Nadine Dorries. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

SNP MP cleared of bullying Nadine Dorries