As the non-fatal infections not due to pigeons return to feature in a renewed campaign by the opposition parties, BBC Scotland, the Herald and other hangers-on, it’s worth repeating this from March.
If you want to see scandals, real scandals and many of them, you must look south, to the work of health boards responsible to Westminster.
The idea that what has happened, actually not happened, in Scotland compares to these horrors is risible:
St Andrew’s Healthcare in Northamptonshire based on an inspection between 17th and 18th December 2019, reported as inadequate, unsafe: https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-121538276
The emergency services at King’s College Hospital in London were inspected in November 2019 and the report appeared last week. They were found to be unsafe. The inspectors found:
Click to access rjz01_location_king_s_college_hospital_newapproachfocused_20191219%20final%20.pdf
Orpington’s Princess Royal Hospital was inspected in November 2019 and reported last week as inadequate unsafe: http://downloads2.dodsmonitoring.com/downloads/Misc_Files/rjz30_location_princess_royal_university_hospital_newapproachfocused_20191219%20final.pdf
North Midlands Trust only looks better by contrast with the inadequacy above but, in Scotland this would lead to calls for heads to roll.
East Kent NHS Trust: An independent review will be held into maternity services at the East Kent NHS Trust after up to 15 babies died there in recent years. Nadine Dorries, minister for patient safety, pledged immediate action and said NHS England would investigate the two hospitals in Margate and Ashford.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-51490841
Hospital mortality rate higher than expected in 8 NHS England trusts
#https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/health-services/hospital-care/hospital-standardised-mortality-ratios/
Patient safety is frequently at risk in NHS hospital trusts in England, with 70% of them failing to meet national safety standards, according to an Observer analysis of inspection reports, with staff shortages the biggest problem.
Urgent enforcement powers’ used to protect patients in Worcester Royal Hospital: A review of data for each month in 2019 suggested limited overall improvement, suggesting staff had normalised the use of the corridor as compared to the use of the corridor only being reserved for times of significant surge.
Click to access Worcestershire%20Royal%20-%20CQC%20report%20-%20Feb%202020.pdf
The sheer injustice and cruelty meted out on Stafford Hospital’s wards: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nhs-mid-staffs-hospital-care-crisis-a9284856.html
Concerns 150 deaths were not properly investigated by Liverpool Community Health: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-48537553
Neglect & serious failures by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust: https://www.inquest.org.uk/kenan-canalp-closes
Talking-up Scotland / Scottish media fact checking is like shooting fish in a barrel 
Prolific purveyors of poodle-fakery.
LikeLiked by 1 person
John,
If you want to get round the paywall on the Herald use the Incognito tab on Chrome, if that is the browser you use, and go to the Herald site. You can then read the articles you want to see. . I do not know if other browsers have this facility.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks.
Didn’t know about that.
LikeLike
Good to see REMAIN voting N. Ireland and REMAIN voting Scotland maintaining a forceful common-front on the Irish Sea border issue. Brexit is Westminster’s mess and they have to come up with the policies and funds to clean it up. Link and snippet from Scottish Legal site below:
https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/uk-government-asked-to-clarify-responsibility-for-irish-sea-trade-checks-after-scotland-refuses
The UK government has been asked to clarify who will be responsible for implementing checks on trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain after the Scottish government ruled out checks at Scottish ports.
Northern Ireland’s Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots told MLAs earlier this week that Scottish ministers had indicated they are not “willing to accept any checks at any ports” as part of a post-Brexit trade deal.
He added: “Scotland was as firm as I was on that: we would not put infrastructure in our ports to facilitate that.”
The Scottish government has said it is still “seeking clarity” on its legal responsibilities under any post-Brexit agreement.
A spokesperson said: “It is no secret that the Scottish government maintains that Scotland’s best interests are served by remaining in the EU, with tariff and barrier-free access to a market of 450 million people.
“The Scottish government has been seeking clarity on how the UK Government intends to fulfil its legal obligations under the protocol, and the implications for Scottish government responsibilities.”
LikeLike
This looks promising – The SNP Scottish Govt are trying to ensure the new fishing quota systems that Brexit will require a far stronger Scottish Public Interest requirement (eg sustainability criteria) – rather than quota simply being divvied up by the (historical accident) Producer Organisations. Link and snippet from news.gov.scot below:
https://news.gov.scot/news/management-of-fish-quotas
Management of fish quotas
New arrangements for managing quotas are being trialled in Scotland’s fisheries.
The project, which will run until the end of 2021, will see the establishment of new legal entities called Quota Management Groups. These organisations, which will have to be based in Scotland and administer Scottish registered vessels, will be given responsibility for allocating quotas in a sustainable way within their group of boats.
Currently, responsibility for managing quotas rests with Fisheries Producer Organisations. The Quota Management Groups will operate alongside them until the end of 2021, at which point a full evaluation will take place.
Fisheries Secretary Fergus Ewing said:
“We are constantly looking at how we can manage our fishery resources in the most efficient and sustainable way.
“Quota Management Groups will have to operate in line with Scottish Government objectives and demonstrate that they have the expertise, systems and processes in place to manage quotas effectively and sustainably on behalf of their vessels.
“By working closely with Marine Scotland, the Quota Management Groups will potentially increase the understanding of our sea fisheries sector. Our hope is that the trial will bring benefits to Scottish coastal communities and inform future policy.”
LikeLike
When I read nowadays about the UK’s marine wild capture fishing industry and ‘quota’ I am reminded of an article written in 2018 by the Labour Party’s John Prescott. He wrote for the Mirror newspaper under the headline: “Greed sank the UK’s fishing industry, not the EU”.
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/john-prescott-greed-sank-uks-12245527
He wrote: “… the (UK) Government actually decides how its EU fishing quota is distributed. If it really cared about the fishing industry, it would ensure these coastal communities with smaller vessels were allowed to fish more. Instead, we have larger foreign vessels being registered in the UK but landing their fish overseas. Brexit won’t change that. The Government can but it has done nothing.”
An article in The Independent as far back as 1996 exposed how the UK government had permitted the sale of quota to non-UK business interests. It noted this going back to the 80’s:
“… British trawler owners sold their boats to the Spanish and Dutch. Or in some cases they sold them to British brokers, who sold them to the Spanish and Dutch. Why? Because they were offering the best price.”
“Why were the foreign skippers so keen to buy British boats? Because under British, not EU, regulations, if you bought the boat, you also got the licence to fish and a guaranteed share of the national (i.e. the UK’s) quota.”
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/britains-fishy-role-in-the-quota-hopping-scandal-1315516.html
So post-Brexit when the ‘patriotic’ British fishing businesses succeed in obtaining additional quota under the new UK regime will they once again be permitted to sell them on to the highest bidder from wherever? Let’s hope what you report Ludo will address some of these issues to the benefit of ALL Scotland’s fishing communities and not just the big, vocal interest group in Peterhead!
LikeLike
And even with your list John, you may be under-stating this. I just used Google to search for ‘NHS scandal’ and the returns from NHS England ‘issues’ over many years – and usually impacting people, not just building work – are even more numerous.
And for new visitors to this site, I think its worth re-stating that (if I may speak on the ‘Collective’ behalf!) the point here is absolutely NOT to take any pleasure in health and social care problems or failures anywhere else.
It is simply the need to use these many, many instances to illustrate the deliberate (for partisan reasons) absence of perspective in the Union-supporting media in Scotland. It is the need to expose the hypocrisy of Union-supporting, UK political parties who must know of the seriousness of the many ‘issues’ that have impacted NHS England’s patients but who nevertheless endlessly talk down the excellent (justified by evidence) but not perfect NHS Scotland – and are only too willing, too often to shout ‘scandal’, ”crisis’ and ‘minister should resign’ for their own (Unionist) ends.
LikeLike
Yes, absolutely correct. I think of it as a given but newer readers may not realise.
Most of the list was not just about buildings though?
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Talking-up Scotland and commented:
As BBC Scotland plan a campaign around the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital again, this is worth repeating.
LikeLike