Only 8% of Scots view assisted dying as a priority for Holyrood
Fewer than one in ten Scots believe legalising assisted dying should be a priority for Holyrood, a poll has revealed before a landmark vote on the issue.
The survey, commissioned by the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, found that the plan to allow terminally ill people to end their lives legally came bottom of 20 issues that the public viewed were the most important for MSPs to focus on.
More than half (57 per cent) picked reducing NHS waiting times when asked to choose up to five priority issues, followed by building affordable housing, investing in social care, controlling immigration and lowering the tax burden.
• Ruth Davidson: My cowardly assisted dying decision has haunted me for a decade
Just 8 per cent picked 'legalising
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
AI doctor four times better at identifying illnesses than humans
Microsoft has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that it claims is four times better than doctors at diagnosing complex illnesses. The tech company's AI diagnosis system was able to correctly identify ailments up to 86pc of the time, compared to just 20pc on average for British and American physicians. Announcing the findings, Microsoft claimed it had laid the groundwork for 'medical superintelligence'. It comes as Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, is seeking to bring AI into widespread use in the NHS to improve efficiency. In April the NHS waiting list rose for the first time in seven months, reaching 7.42m in a blow to one of the Government's key pledges to cut waiting times. Microsoft claimed its system could solve problems more cheaply than doctors – beating physicians even when sticking to a budget for diagnostic tests. The system, known as Microsoft AI Diagnostic Orchestrator, or MAI-DxO, was tested on 304 cases from the New England Journal of Medicine, a medical journal known for publishing complex medical cases from Massachusetts General Hospital. The system comprised a virtual panel of five different AI bots, each serving different roles such as 'Dr Hypothesiser', 'Dr Test-Chooser' and 'Dr Challenger' that would internally deliberate before asking further questions or ordering tests and providing a diagnosis. In one case, the system diagnosed embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that normally occurs in children, in a 29-year-old woman. The system was able to diagnose 85.5pc of conditions when paired with the most advanced AI model developed by ChatGPT developer OpenAI and when it had no budget limit on ordering tests. However, even when it had to stick to a $2,000 (£1,458) budget for tests, it was correct more than 70pc of the time. The 21 human doctors, who had an average of 12 years' experience, spent an average of $2,963 on tests. The average doctor was correct 19.9pc of the time, although they were unable to use textbooks or software to look up information and were generalist physicians, rather than specialists. Microsoft's AI tool correctly diagnosed the condition more than half the time even when unable to order any tests, Microsoft said. 'Complement' doctors The researchers said the journal that had provided the cases was behind a paywall and that many were published after the AI system was trained. This ensured that the cases could not have been included in the datasets used to build the AI, and the system had to arrive at the diagnoses itself. Microsoft's AI health division is led by Mustafa Suleyman, the British entrepreneur who co-founded DeepMind before the lab was acquired by Google. He who moved to Microsoft last year. The company said it received 50m health queries a day on its Bing search engine and Copilot chatbot, adding: 'AI companions are quickly becoming the new front line in healthcare.' However, it said AI would complement rather than replace medical professionals. '[Doctors] need to navigate ambiguity and build trust with patients and their families in a way that AI isn't set up to do,' the company said. Last week, Mr Streeting unveiled an NHS app that he said would include a chatbot that serves as a 'doctor in your pocket'.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Labrador-sized big cat could be reintroduced into wild in UK within two years
The government's wildlife chief has said he would be 'absolutely delighted' if he could reintroduce lynx to Britain during his two-year term. Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England - the government's wildlife regulator - said that while debates over the labrador-sized cat's return to the British wild remained polarised, more engagement was needed to understand how different communities would be affected. This follows a draft application by Lynx UK Trust to return lynx to England's largest forest, Kielder in Northumberland, using wild animals rescued from culls in Sweden. Lynx, a species of cat which has been hunted to extinction in Britain, primarily live in forests and prey on deer or rabbits, posing no threat to humans. Lynx UK claim that they may be the answer to the UK's overpopulation of deer, which has impacted forest regeneration with a knock-on effect on wider wildlife. When asked if he believed lynx could be reintroduced by The Guardian, Mr Juniper said 'it should be looked at and I know people are looking at it', adding he hoped 'a cross-border conversation with colleagues in Scotland' could boost prospects for the return of the species. 'Lynx do need big areas of habitat and there could be some opportunities to combine nature recovery over parts of northern England with what's going on in southern Scotland,' he said. 'It is still quite polarised and some of these things will remain divided no matter how much effort you put in, but we need more engagement to understand how communities that would be living with these animals would be able to continue with what they do. There are in some places still serious doubts about that.' Natural England officials have told the trust that a trial reintroduction can't proceed because the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) rules it illegal under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act. The charity believe that this could be solved with a simple statutory instrument. Chief executive, Paul O'Donoghue, told The Guardian that Steve Reed, environment secretary, had not responded to attempts to arrange a meeting, and warned that if the government didn't review the trust's application for a trial release licence, then the charity would launch a court challenge. A Defra spokesperson said: 'This government is absolutely committed to restoring and protecting nature and we support species reintroductions where there are clear benefits for nature, people and the environment. 'We will continue to work with Natural England on species reintroductions in England.' Lynx are currently listed on the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, which means local authorities must licence lynx keeping and can't release them unless into a secure enclosure.
Glasgow Times
2 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Hospital bus link 'saved' as MSP hails U-turn by NHS bosses
The 340 service, an NHS-funded service which has linked Helensburgh and the Vale of Leven Hospital (VoLH) with the Royal Alexandra Hospital, ended on June 28, leaving visitors without a direct route between facilities. The service previously run by McColls ended on Saturday, and a new NHS-run bus, which has been running for two days, was to be made available for patients and staff only. However, at crunch talks today (Monday), NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's Chief Executive, Professor Jann Gardner, agreed that visitors would now be permitted to travel on the bus. The board had been citing costs and lack of passenger numbers as their reasons for axing the 340 service; however, their move to short-term contract extensions had pushed up costs. Baillie said: 'I am over the moon that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) have made changes to their plans. 'I am clear that it is essential that everyone in our community has easy access to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, and this cannot be achieved by existing public transport links. 'Albeit an eleventh-hour decision, I am overjoyed that the health board has listened to reason.' (Image: Images taken by Colin Mearns, Newsquest) We previously reported how members of the Vale of Leven Hospital Watch called the axing of the service a "betrayal of trust." A NHS GGC spokesperson said: "A new, free transport link between the Vale of Leven Hospital and Royal Alexandra Hospital has been expanded in response to feedback from the public. "The link, which replaces the underused service provided by a bus operator, will now be available to staff, patients and visitors. "It will be more frequent than the previous service, and will be significantly more cost-effective for NHSGGC. "While the bus runs directly between the two hospitals, if a patient requires transport from another location, such as Helensburgh, the Board's transport policy can provide financial support, if appropriate, to help them attend an appointment. "We would like to thank all those who have engaged with us about the launch of this new service."
