As of today, NHS Scotland has 6 fatalities in 322 cases hospitalised. This rate of 18.6 per 1 000 compares with the tragic Italian rate of 83 per 1000. The overall UK figure is now 177 fatalities in 3 269 hospitalised cases or 54 per 1 000.
I know some readers are uncomfortable with this reporting but it remains important to tell the truth in the interests of the morale in NHS Scotland which has so often been unfairly damaged by media distortions and scare stories based on far smaller sets of data, often individual patients, than we see here.
In no way, does this blame the staff in NHS England. I’d have thought it was obvious where that lies and acceptable that I cast it.
Talking-up Scotland 
I support your decision to do this and the fact that you always include an explanatory paragraph giving your reasons. The media in Scotland continually find ‘bad news’ stories about the NHS (and the police, and schools, and prisons and social workers, etc) and make selective use of statistics to present things in a disparaging way. Increasingly, they have shown themselves capable of fabrication.
You have chosen QEUH for this feature because BBC Scotland in particular have attacked it continuously, even to the extent of televising an interview with two known fascists as ‘evidence’ for pigeon droppings. The QEUH is a big and complex building and institution. It has a continuous monitoring and evaluation regime, and the results are always published. Inevitably in such a big building there will be ‘wear and tear’ issues and the longer term gradual degradation. It is also an institution with 10 000 employees, thousands of patients and visitors and there are errors and omissions, which will almost all be picked up by the monitoring. So, every report is going to include ‘things to be acted on’. It is these ‘points to be acted on’ that are seized upon by the media hyenas and presented out of context with the implication that they are general and persisting problems.
It is essential that there is continuous monitoring and that the results are reported regularly, because this is reassuring to the public. Most members of the public are reasonably well informed, because most have worked in places where there is a monitoring regime (sadly, sometimes an oppressive one) and can undertand the context of the report. But, for people unfamiliar with this the media mendacity and opportunism of some politicians and lawyers and trade union officials, etc, this kind of lurid reporting reduces confidence in services. And, in the beloved ‘vox pops’ it is only these people who feature.
Keep up the good work.
SOLIDARITY WITH THE NHS ENGLAND STAFF!!
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Thanks Alasdair
I really appreciate your, always articulate, support.
John
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I am not uncomfortable with this at all , let’s say it balances the scales ! .
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Already a London hospital has run out of critical care beds – not good news. London is of course the worst hit and ahead of the curve, I hope the UK government finally puts some serious effort to support the NHS, they need funding, supplies and people
https://www.hsj.co.uk/news/hospitals-critical-care-unit-overwhelmed-by-coronavirus-patients/7027189.article
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At times like this I sort of wish I was a believer and might pray for them but mostly it makes me angry and confused. These hospitals are sometimes in Tory seats!
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Yeah, it’s one of those things I can never get my head around; ‘why people vote against their own best interests’ (it was a title of a lecture by economics professor Mark Blyth!)
I see the SNPs Ian Blackford is pushing for Boris’ gov’t to bring in a proper financial package to save the economy:
https://mobile.twitter.com/tomfrench85/status/1241041636836216832
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Oho, things are happening fast, the UK govt has indeed introduced some measures, Michael Gray seem to be reporting them:
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Reblogged this on New Scotland and commented:
Scotland’s Hospital’s making a massive effort in saving lives…
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Reblogged this on Ramblings of a 50+ Female.
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Thank you
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We live in Scotland , we support and report Scottish matters , well done again we all need to know about the good news and the good news is that our Scottish nhs is full of fantastic dedicated and skilled people.
There are people in Scotland , a few in the nhs in Scotland who don’t want such good news because they want to support the other side, those who consistently lie about the Scottish nhs , we have to counteract their nonsense .
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