Scotland has much to be proud of in the way that the pandemic has been managed. I have no doubt that the death toll would have been greater without the unwavering support and close working relationship between the government and the clinical community.
Dr Dr Stephen Cole, the president of the Scottish Intensive Care Society
Strangely or perhaps not hidden away at the bottom of a report on admissions to intensive care in which BBC Scotland give us a fairly dry and descriptive account of the numbers and events in ICUs, there is a glowing comment about the performance of the Scottish Government which is perhaps down there because it sharply contradicts the current spate of media comment suggesting approval for them is a con trick. That view has been repeated by Macwhirter, Gordon and even the FT and the Guardian. As I write, I feel sure the same accusation will be echoing around Question Time.
Here’s what Dr Stephen Cole, the president of the Scottish Intensive Care Society, said:
Working with the Scottish government and national procurement, we were able to provide the potential for more than 700 ventilated ICU beds, four times the base capacity across Scotland. Scotland has much to be proud of in the way that the pandemic has been managed. I have no doubt that the death toll would have been greater without the unwavering support and close working relationship between the government and the clinical community.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
More praise…. from Mr Jack
“The institutions are ‘helping to make a real difference’, says secretary of state for Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland has praised universities in the devolved nation for their response to the Covid-19 crisis.
“Whether it is researching vaccines, helping to understand more about how the virus works, training health professionals or donating equipment to hospitals, they are helping to make a real difference,” said Alister Jack in a message of support to Scottish universities published on 7 April.
A number of Scottish institutions have responded to the pandemic, with the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh collaborating on a project to understand the impact of the virus on the human body using samples and data from 1,300 patients. The team hopes to use the information to help control the outbreak and improve treatments.
Glasgow researchers also successfully helped to map the Covid-19 genome. While Edinburgh Napier University has transferred a ventilator normally used in its Simulation and Clinical Skills Centre to the intensive care ward at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to help the hospital cope with increasing demand.
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Dundee have identified 38 proteins in the Covid-19 virus. The team now aims to manufacture these proteins to develop antibodies fight the virus. The institution has also provided two robots to help with the creation of the UK’s first national diagnostic centre in Milton Keynes.
In addition, Dundee has worked with NHS Tayside to establish a Covid-19 training hub, which will provide a range of training courses for healthcare staff.
The praise comes as the universities minister, Michelle Donelan, wrote to Research Professional News to say she was “proud and grateful for the calm and decisive leadership” universities have taken to deal with Covid-19.”
https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-politics-scotland-2020-4-scottish-universities-praised-for-response-to-covid-19-crisis/
LikeLiked by 4 people
Not sure how much impact research has had on containing this virus.
It has been largely down to the Scottish health service along with government support that has done most of the heavy lifting.
Of course,had our health service been left to the ministrations of England’s Tories,it is unlikely it would have been so successful.
I think that most Scots now realise that.
LikeLiked by 3 people