The reality of Brexit is starting to hit home.
And when it comes to public health, warnings really must be heard.
Scotland’s chief medical officer set out advice on what steps are being taken to prepare for a no-deal exit from the EU.
Dr Catherine Calderwood wrote in plain terms about potential “serious shortages”. She said supplies of crucial medicines have been built up. If problems do hit the NHS, prescriptions can be changed, alternatives could be sourced.
These are clearly worrying things to hear if you depend on medicine with a shelf life. Crucially, she also tells members of the public not to stockpile.
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It is tempting to take matters into your own hands when the NHS is preparing for upheaval. But people need to trust the health service to manage a way through this self-inflicted chaos.
The sheer scale of this calamity was underlined at Holyrood yesterday as the SNP and Tories continued to point fingers of blame.
Nicola Sturgeon says it’s her top priority to stop Brexit.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is reduced to promising to quit just to get her scrapping MPs on side. It is an excruciating national embarrassment.
While politicians are deadlocked, it takes figures like Dr Calderwood to calmly remind us what is at stake.
It’s not too late to change course, for the good of our health.
Poverty plight
Child poverty continues to grow as the gap between rich and poor widens.
It’s a scandal so many youngsters are on the breadline. The UK Government’s austerity measures are a major cause of this brake on progress.
And while the Tories continue to hammer the poor, the Scottish Parliament is left to pick up the pieces.
The SNP , rightly, say Holyrood shouldn’t just be there to fill the gaps.
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There must be a higher purpose than that – which is why greater powers were devolved.
Income support policies are being looked into, and top-ups are available.
There can be no dragging of heels. The scale of the problem demands rapid, and radical, action.
No Meena feat
The actor behind Still Game’s long-suffering Meena has survived trauma, donated her wages to charity and welcomed asylum seekers.
And with the hit comedy coming to an end, the actor’s incredible life could easily fill a series of its own.
After 17 years in the shadows, this was a real life story worth waiting for.
