Scotland does have less hospital beds than it had before. This is the planned result of changes to way patients are treated to reduce the risks of hospitalisation for those who can be treated in the community.
From the Kings Fund in 2020 but of course missed by the SUN:
Most other advanced health care systems have also reduced bed numbers in recent years. However, the UK has fewer acute beds relative to its population than many comparable health systems.
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/nhs-hospital-bed-numbers
The Kings Fund report lumps Scotland in with the UK but that’s deceptive. See this, also from 2020:
Scotland has a hospital bed for every 265 people whereas England only has one for every 413. If there are bed shortages in Scotland and the graph below suggests not, then they are nearly twice as bad in England.
Either way, are their shortages? See this:
Admissions have been falling for 7 days now, from a peak that was only half of that in February 2021 and ICU cases have been falling for 5 days, in the wake of cases plummeting by 50%.
So, that’s beds, what about staff?
Astonishingly, NHS Scotland has 50% more nurses than NHS England. Could the Scottish Government have played any part in this?
Perhaps they’re all off sick? Nope. The absence rate among NHS Scotland nurses and midwives has fallen again in week-ending 21st September to just over half that at the most recent peak in January 2021: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-trends-in-daily-data/
Consultants, GPs? Yes more of them too but that’s enough to enable you to dump the Mail.
Talking-up Scotland / Scottish media fact checking is like shooting fish in a barrel 
If Scottish Labour and BBC Scotland have their baleful way and the QEUH is closed, there will be even fewer beds!
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I don’t read the Herald any longer but still get emails from them. Amazingly, possibly because it was critical of the FM and the Scottish NHS, they sent an entire Kevin McKenna column, not behind the paywall. It was a statistic free and context free zone as far as I could see! No comparison with NHS England for waiting times in A&E. As you remarked before astutely as ever, Kevin’s stance changes depending on who’s paying him. Deserves refutation however from a Herald subscriber.
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The only thing that is in a critical condition hanging on awaiting a space in The Morgue
Is Their Preciousssss Union
And many a more morgue space that also awaits The Daily Mail and the rest of the MSM scum in Scotland
Please forgive me for the deployment of the word SCUM
I am feeling too Gentmanly and generous
Currently
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John, I agree it’s their style but “.. of course missed by the SUN” ?
That front page is a hoot, the “NHS NOW IN CRITICAL CONDITION” surrounded by the “dog psychic who can read your best friend’s mind” and presumably fetches a 50 quid note when thrown and makes it disappear and leaves skidmark on the carpet as a distraction technique, and the “Strictly is hit by fresh Covid crisis” is only because Pacific Quay had bought out the entire stock of stale crises previously…
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The Scottish Gov has increased the number of nurses in Uni/training every year since 2012. Then it was 2,400 and now it is over 4,200 1st year intake – no tuition fees and now a bursary of £10,000. Compare that to down south where today it was reported that No10 is considering lowering the amount graduates can earn when fee repayments kick in. The salary mentioned was £23,000 compared to £27,000 at the moment.
The SG also ran a successful campaign to attract qualified staff back into nursing.
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