From Alasdair Macdonald

There are a couple of things going on in these reports about ‘health scares’.

Firstly, there are the various professional bodies – psychiatrists, radiographers, nurses, etc – who are seeking increased pay and improved conditions for members. This group also includes particular medical specialisms who are jostling for positions with regard to the allocation of funding grants.

Secondly, there is BBC Scotland News and Current Affairs which is, as we have seen since before 2014, hostile to Scottish independence (since it is an arm of the UK state) and also hostile to public services and redistribution of power.

The BBC is using these ‘professional’ groups and their credibility amongst the population to help sow seeds of discontent about the performance of the SG. And, since they are not daft, the professional bodies are using the BBC and other friends in the media to promote their cases, which as with all such bodies, including trade unions and businesses, are arguing for sectional interests against the general public good.

Of course, it is likely that some amongst the professional bodies are also hostile to independence and redistribution of power and are happy to ride both horses. Similarly, it is likely that there are those within BBC News and Current Affairs, who have family and friends amongst these professional groups and are quite prepared to boost the cause – but not, of course, the cause of the appalling ‘worker’ trade unionists who are holding the country to ransom.