I’ve had to help BBC Scotland out again, at no cost to the taxpayer, so that their news coverage is a bit more informative and accurate.
The UK’s most competent health secretary by far has announced a massive increase in intensive care bed provision to 700 even though there are currently only 23 coronavirus patients in intensive care.
Also in the BBC report but a bit lost down the page was this:
She said a “pipeline of ventilators is slated to come to Scotland over the coming weeks to enable this increase and we are working with suppliers to do all we can so they can be brought here as soon as is humanly possible”.
The health secretary said hospital parking charges would be scrapped in Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
John, I was listening to the broadcast in the background – and definitely heard someone, maybe Jeanne Freeman, say “quadrupled” I think as a correction to “doubled” mentioned earlier. Outcome wasn’t clear.
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I think, but it was a bit garbled, that she is doubling the planned doubling of the ICU beds. (which is ultimately a quadruple, but only a double of the original plan… ). Good for her starting to put in place possibly needed units – or maybe probably needed, because I suspect if Scot’s aren’t using them, we might need to subsidise England if things get bad. Hoping it won’t!
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To bank for the future Indy campaign: there are now examples of individual, independent nation states in Europe taking Coronavirus patients from other European countries into their hospitals. So evidence of trans-national co-operation and sharing during a health emergency. Rather different reality than what I seem to recall Mr Gordon Brown claimed would happen – a loss of access to England’s health expertise – once Scotland became independent.
For example: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-italy-idUSKBN21B2GL
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All well and good you might think but in a weaker moment I did take in an extraordinary piece by the RS tonight in that they managed to find an anaesthitest to complain about the lack of hand sanitisers and partiicularly where they are situated in the hospital. No great issue with that I suppose if there are indeed gaps in the system but astonishingly she went further and say someone ‘high up in the Gov’ needs to take action to address this. Note: not the Department, not the Hospital, nor indeed the Health Board but laying the issue at the Government’s door and also to claim this is widespread across the NHS in Scotland Absolutely disgraceful reporting.
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Gerry, in case you missed this a few days ago here:
https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2020/03/21/why-the-anaesthetist-might-be-wrong-about-positioning-of-hand-sanitisers/
Just gives pause for thought.
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To add to my previous post, here is a link to more research into location of hand sanitisers in hospitals:
Kirk et al (2016) Point of care hand hygiene—where’s the rub? A survey of US and Canadian health care workers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices. American Journal of Infection Control v. 44.10.
https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(16)00228-5/fulltext
“Hand hygiene AT THE POINT OF CARE is recognized as a best practice for promoting compliance at the moments when hand hygiene is most critical.” (with my emphasis)
And goes on:
“About 90% of US and Canadian health care workers reported that ABHR (alcohol-based handrub) dispensers are readily available at their hospital. However, >50% of the participants from both the United States and Canada agreed or strongly agreed that they would be more likely to clean their hands when recommended if the ABHR was CLOSER TO THE PATIENT.
In a related question, participants were also asked to select where hand hygiene products would be better positioned. In identical results from the United States and Canada, wall dispenser within 3 ft of the patient was selected as the most desired position (77%), followed by the foot of the bed at 42%.”
Why is BBC Scotland still persisting with this ‘issue’ without such wider context to inform concerned listeners/viewers?
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John,RE BBC Drivetime can’t wash its hands of this scare story
I think the same person was on RS tonight about Sanitisers,my thought who was doing the filming a BBC person
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It was the Consultant making the complaint who videod the piece shown on RS tonight. She also took a swipe at the cleaners and then for good measure claimed that the situation re sanitizers was widespread across Scotland.
From very recent experience this is not the case. A week ago I attended my local hospital, FVRH, for my post-op check. Loads of wall mounted sanitizers and some between the outer and inner doors to the hospital. All being used. Also people in the waiting room observed the 2 metre spacing when selecting where to sit.
Back in January I was at the Golden Jubilee for an appointment. Sanitizers in the main lobby prominently placed. Sanitiser in reception area of the department I was going to and I was instructed to use it before I was allowed through to the examination area.
Clearly a limited sampling but still valid to offset one complainant.
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I heard this on the radio, John Beattie, declaring that he knew her, emphasising she was a consultant anaesthetist, who also said ‘I’m sure the other hospitals are just the same’! Hardly professional. I mean, whistleblowing is fair enough, and the woman being interviewed for the hospital said she was glad to get anything like this flagged up, but then she got badgered about it – I was absolutely disgusted by this reporting.
How can a lone person have the authority to say ‘I’m sure other hospitals are the same’?! She obviously didn’t know and wasn’t planning on finding out – going round a hospital with a camera, total weirdo. Give us a proper survey if she’s that obsessed.
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I think she was using her phone to do the video.
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