As the death toll from the flu virus rises still higher, a quite remarkable situation has arisen where Scotland has spare flu vaccines available, is perfectly open to supplying south of the border but parts of the rest of the UK are using old stocks that do not cover every strain of the virus. Local shortfalls exist while GPs scour Continental Europe for any spare vaccines that already exist in Scotland.
In difficult times, the human mind can find a survival instinct that allows it to find the necessary solutions quicker in order to overcome problems. For some reason, that same instinct seems to be lacking from the current UK Government as the simplest solution here would be to take Scotland’s spares and quickly deliver them to where the need is the greatest, wherever that may be across the entire UK.
One can only hope that it was not the consideration of the SNP being seen to be helping out the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition that led to the Scottish Government’s spare vaccines being rebuffed. Alternative reasons are thin on the ground though and, once again, Cameron’s party’s ‘respect’ agenda for Scotland can only be called into question.
As I’ve said before, I’m not overly fussed about independence as there’s no reason why two neighbouring countries can’t operate just as effectively with each other irrespective of where the border is drawn. Of course the flip side of that is that we should act as one country when we are one country so the apparent difficulty to do just that is what is so concerning here; that we can’t even distribute a life-saving vaccine as efficiently as possible.
‘Stronger together, weaker apart’ is the constant refrain from each of the unionist parties regarding the constitutional arrangement of the UK. But if London won’t even tap Scotland for a few spare flu vaccines when parts of England are in desperate need of them, can we really take that argument seriously?
#1 by cynicalHighlander on January 7, 2011 - 5:24 pm
Thats a swine of a post as I can’t fault it! Respect is cheap to say but harder for staunch unionists to do.
#2 by Amused Socialist on January 8, 2011 - 3:31 am
Perhaps it has something to do with the Coalition government dropping the SNP in the proverbial *hit when the Scottish Secretary revealed (exposed?) the fact that the SNP did not renew the mechanism for the variable rate.
I cant see how our supposidly sovereign parliament would have ever found out this side of the election were it not for the revelation from another place. That strikes me as a low blow and designed specifically to inflict maximum damage.
Which it has done….
Accepting supplies from Scotland would show up the Coalition regarding the fact that they themselves are not on top of the supply situation and after the variable rate humilation, the coalition would rather go cap in hand to the frogs and krauts rather than give the SNP an opportunity to flaunt their health service planning. Sturgeon has always been an effective secretary and she would not have overlooked this area.
I have come to the conclusion however, that the flu jab supply in Scotland is one of those exceedingly rare occassions of actual competence emerging from the bowels of the SNP’s rapidly waning authority.
Otherwise, it could exactly be a case of detesting the SNP so much, that going cap in hand would be an unacceptable loss of face.
I wouldnt do it either, but then I remember and hold close my feelings May 2007.
Feelings I sincerely hope and believe will be rectified come May of this year.
#3 by Indy on January 12, 2011 - 11:49 am
The Scottish Parliament is not sovereign. Why on earth would you think it was?
#4 by IanH on January 10, 2011 - 8:40 am
The English NHS is much more privatised than Scotland, with each GP practice having to order their own stock direct from suppliers. I don’t think they have a central stock that can be distributed as needed in the way that Scotland has. England might struggle to act at a national level on something like vaccine supplies.
#5 by John Ruddy on January 11, 2011 - 6:35 pm
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there Ian. Plus the fact that there was no political pressure to sort out the problem from the Department of Health – at least until after Christmas.