Cass Macgregor

Pain ConcernPeople living with long-term pain and illness need social security - Pain Concern In this blog I cover some of the difficulties that people with long-term pain and illness face with the UK benefits and welfare systems, and why governments

Congratulations! Out of interest, will you be investigating solutions to the difficulties ppl with chronic pain/illness face with paid work difficulties/limitations and the social security interface (as per blog)? painconcern.org.uk/social-secur...

So sorry to read this. 💔

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Thanks for sharing. It reminds me a little of ideas we raised about deepening engagement with 'intersectionality' journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Ideas about ideas: The politics of recognition Which ideas get heard? Why?

New Ideas about Ideas essay "The politics of recognition". This explores the politics of recognition: how status, institutions, and power shape whose ideas are taken seriously. Written with @sandrogalea.skystack.xyz and cross-posted on The Healthiest Goldfish. open.substack.com/pub/nasonmaa...

Who is providing pain care? Mapping chronic pain services across Scotland using freedom of information requests - Cassandra Macgregor, Christopher Seenan, Sivaramkumar Shanmugam, David N Blane, 2026 Background The Scottish Service Model for Chronic Pain advocates multidisciplinary provision of care, stratified across sectors. However, there is lack of trans...

New publication: Who is providing pain care? Mapping chronic pain services across Scotland using freedom of information requests. #ChronicPain #PainCare journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

Campaigner turned down MBE over ‘scapegoating’ of people with disabilities Exclusive: In letter declining proposed award, Tressa Burke, CEO of Glasgow Disability Alliance, accused government of ‘fuelling hatred’

NEW Tressa Burke of Glasgow Disability Alliance turned down MBE over ‘scapegoating’ of people with disabilities

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Palestine Action hunger strike - Early Day Motions - UK Parliament That this House expresses its extreme concern that six prisoners associated with Palestine Action have felt that they had no other recourse to protest against their prison conditions but to launch a h...

Check to see if your MP has signed to express their concern about the six hunger strikers and 'call upon the Secretary of State for Justice to intervene urgently to ensure their treatment is humane and their human rights are upheld'

edm.parliament.uk/early-day-mo...

CommonHealth Assets CommonHealth Assets

We are pleased to share a new article, based on a collaboration between GCPH, @commonhealthassets.bsky.social & others, on the economic evaluation of participation in community led organisations for individuals
▶️ doi.org/10.1016/j.so...

See also: www.gcph.co.uk/our-work/25-...

Criminologist and friend Fergus McNeill speaking to MSPs in the Scottish Parliament debating chamber today.

🔗 to watch @fergusmcneill.bsky.social's full speech, in Prisoners Week, to @scotparl.bsky.social 👇 #Criminology #CrimSky #Prison #PrisonersWeek
www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/meet...

It's almost full, but still a few tickets left for NRS Pain: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sparcnrs-p...

YouTube video by STV News Special report: Living with Chronic Pain #health #news #pain

Scotland Tonight featured a piece on 'Living with Chronic Pain,' now on youtube. We follow the stories of Marie and Kevin - David and I furnish the stories with our experiences of delivering care. #ChronicPain #PainCare
youtu.be/exaw8dFApdA

Which one is more English?

China intimidated UK university to ditch human rights research, documents show - BBC News Sheffield Hallam University apologises to Professor Laura Murphy for restricting her academic freedom.

Pretty extraordinary story here
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....

'[I]f we refocus attention on elites, using the same measures that are often applied to migrants, we see a complete lack of integration. [...] Elites choose to segregate, but that choice is quietly normalised'. www.gla.ac.uk/schools/soci...

Dr David Blane, GP and Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Glasgow calls for caution when discussing lifestlye approaches for chronic pain in his blog 'Chronic Pain and the Limits of “Lifestyle” approaches'.

ppa.csp.org.uk/content/blog...

He talks about an under-recognised aspect of healthcare in many settings - to bear witness.

❗️Remember to submit your abstract before the 6th of October❗️

Group of 7 people sitting at a table in a pub with drinks.

Yesterday I successfully defended my PhD thesis -'An Exploration of Acceptance of Chronic Pain: from Individual Journeys to Social and Political Contexts.' (passed with very minor corrections) 🎉 Wonderful to celebrate afterwards with some of the team🥂

Prominent UK women tell rightwingers: stop linking immigration to sexual abuse Exclusive: Open letter says politicians are exploiting violence against women ‘to fuel hate and division’

Prominent women, including cultural figures, politicians, and campaigners, have signed a letter criticising rightwing attempts to link sexual violence to asylum seekers and immigration.

"We reject the far right's racist lies... They are not defenders of women"
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Come join me, @rozfoyer.bsky.social Tressa Burke from Glasgow Disability Alliance, Anne Marie Clements from Justice & Peace Scotland & Terry McTernan from the Darkwood Crew to talk about why the Scotland Demand Better Campaign is needed and how you can get involved

As part of The Scottish Wellbeing Economy Strategy Group, we are launching a new webinar series aiming to generate energy and discussion around the concept of a #WellbeingEconomy and what this means for Scotland. First up will be
@gerrymccartney1.bsky.social

us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

The bravery of these healthcare staff is incredible 💔

Great piece by @danigaravelli.bsky.social

House in community - as for normal people
Close mass accommodation sites & detention camps
Lift the ban on work after 6 months if claims not processed
Process claims
Stop with the lies about ‘pull factors’ & ‘deterrents’
Use New Scots integration strategy

Thanks to everyone who has already read and engaged with mine and @haylesben.bsky.social new paper ‘Lived experience as evidence in anti-poverty policy making: a governance-driven perspective’ Thought I'd give a summary of the paper here, I've found it useful when others have done this, so here goes

IASP Statement on Humanitarian Crises and Access to Pain Relief in Gaza - International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) (August 8, 2025, Washington DC) The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) stands in solidarity with all individuals suffering from pain, especially in the context of humanitarian cris...

This aspect of the “crisis” receives less attention
www.iasp-pain.org/publications...

Dr Yu Wei Chua, lead author and Research Associate in the Health Inequalities and Policy Research Group at the University of Liverpool, and NIHR Researcher at the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Consortium said: “Our findings show that the mental health gap is already firmly in place by age five, regardless of whether we use income or maternal education to index socioeconomic disadvantage.”

NEWS | New findings from @liverpooluni.bsky.social and @uofglasgow.bsky.social show socioeconomic inequalities in children’s mental health are already evident by age five and persist throughout childhood and adolescence.

Read more⬇️

news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/08/06/r...

@livunihls.bsky.social

Borders that hurt: the link between anti-immigration... : PAIN grant peers. Anti-immigration attitudes, which are also rising in Europe, may contribute to this disparity by fostering social exclusion and discrimination, which can heighten psychological distress a...

Important and timely study from Roman-Juan & colleagues: 'Borders that hurt: the link between anti-immigration attitudes in Europe and the epidemic of chronic pain in immigrant adolescents' #ChronicPain #Intersectionality #Immigration journals.lww.com/pain/abstrac...

Time is fast approaching for our study day!! To view the full programme and book follow the link here:

ppa.csp.org.uk/courses/ppa-...

TFN is @scvo.scot's magazine for the #VoluntarySector

This month we report on #ScotlandDemandsBetter a major new cross-civil society campaign involving
@povertyalliance.org
@jrf-uk.bsky.social
@oxfamscotland.bsky.social
and many more.

Read it all here: buff.ly/BOdM5ZJ

#WeDemandBetter