Fiona Bruce tonight, interrupting Kate Forbes more than the others and campaigning on behalf of the Union with tabloid questions, asked:
Why therefore is it that the average time to start chemotherapy in England is 48 days. It’s 65 in Scotland. Why is in Scotland there are 7 000 people who’ve waited more than two years for treatment. In England it’s just over 200.
1. Cancer treatment
According to BBC Health in August 2023, 21% of cancer patients waited longer than the 62-day target for treatment in Scotland. In England, it was 36%, in Wales 43% and in N Ireland 58%!
2. The two-year and 18-week waiting lists
The UK Government and NHS England have been sneaky again, as they did when they began restarting the clock for A&E patients, after they had been triaged.
They knew how the media feasted on stories of patients waiting more than two years and regardless of the seriousness of the cases, threw money at them, rushing them through private hospitals and at the expense of other targets.
Key point – Those waiting more than two years, no doubt in pain and with limited lives, are not, by definition at risk of dying from their problems. Far more important, in saving lives, is the 18 week waiting list and, on this Scotland does far far better than England.
From the BMJ on February 10 2023:
More than three million patients waited longer than 18 weeks for treatment in England in December, the highest number on record, show data for the NHS in England. In November 2022 a total of 2 902 274 waited 18 weeks or longer, and in December this figure rose to 3 051 661, the data on referral to treatment times show.1
All things being equal, in the same month, December 2022, you’d expect Scotland to have 305 000 but in fact it had only 20 448 waiting over 18 weeks.
14.52 times more, per head of population, waiting longer than 18 weeks in England than in Scotland
Source:
Talking-up Scotland / Facts on NHS, Crime, ferries and everything else you can think of 
Westminster funds NHS £125Billion. Cut over the last 10 years in real terms. Westminster spends £1090Billion but not enough for the NHS. The Scottish Gov has to mitigate the cuts. Spends £13Billion + social care. Covid funded £270Billion over two years. The tax revenues have gone down. From £817Billion to £731Billion. No growth.
Westminster spends on Trident, redundant weaponry, illegal wars. Brexit has lost £Billions.
The BBC are a propaganda unit for Westminster. Costs £6Billion. Half spent on the estate. Enough to relief poverty.
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I’ve given QT a wide berth for some time precisely because of Bruce’s approach to SNP panel members – Whenever Fiona picks asks a specific question over Scotland’s NHS performance of a SG Minister such as here, it is never what it appears to be.
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she’s adopting the Brillo technique,
first read out some dodgy figures,
then ask a question based on the false premise,
he’s been at that shite for years.
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Maybe so guys but our politicians need to be up for that and forcefully rebut then attack. I didn’t see the programme but Kate Forbes do this?
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Having sought out the segment where this was asked and watched it, it was obviously rehearsed to unsettle Forbes with a totally left field throw-in – The question is so specific, Forbes could only rebut with generalities.
She may be clever and have a good memory, but there is no way she could have answered such a question without having looked up the figures and memorised them in preparation for a niche question – A stitchup essentially.
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thanks Bob. I guess the answer to that is to respond in kind. Have a great statistic up year sleeve in response. Also to challenge the question “ surely you don’t expect me to have every statistic – that’s very specific Fiona. You bitch. “. Something along those lines. 😂
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🤣 I doubt it would get to air….
This is the segment in question starting with the question from the audience. And what of the question asked by the audience member is Fiona Bruce’s addressing ? Nothing whatsover…
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Yes stopped watching it when (and not for the first time) Bruce continually interrupted Forbes to prevent her fully answering the question about Oil & Gas licencing. I appreciate we are in Election mode but I still do not understand why the SNP has alllowed itself to be unfairly ‘persecuted’ in this way especially by the BBC. They never have or will get a fair hearing. I have been saying for years now that the SNP should have PUBLICLY denounced the extreme bias of the BBC and refused bluntly to take part in these so called slanted’discussion’ programmes.
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Why is someone who is there to chair a discussion, bringing a dossier of ‘facts’ with which to harangue just one participant? She acts as though she is one of the panel whenever there is anyone nationalist on the programme
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I NEVER watch MORE OF AN ENTERTAINMENT SHOW, NO SUBSTANCE, PLENTY OF LIES, BIAS BEYOND BELIEF, IS IT NOT ENOUGH OF A PRESS HOSTILE TO SCOTLAND, MANY NOT PAYING IN MANY CASES PAYING LITTLE OR NO TAXES, ADDING THIS DIRE RUBBISH, FICTION, REHEARSED BY A TORY, TO SPREAD PROPAGANDA!
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been saying this for years like many, Fiona Bruce needs to be sacked, or better still Question Time scrapped and investigated properly, the whole Alison Pedlar scandals need scrutinised for her far right connections and continually booking Farage. Never watch it,even when it was Dimbleby. Bruce is the absolute worst tory mouthpiece ever, even more so than Kuenssberg.
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