Michael Griffin is a Newcastle-based surgeon and convenor of the Edinburgh surgeon’s professional association, the RCS. Did nobody from Edinburgh want the job?
He styles himself ‘president’ and ‘professor’ but it’s just a convenorship and he’s just one of those honorary profs who has never published research. I think being a surgeon is pretty high status on its own. Why does he, and others, need ‘president’ and ‘professor?’
Anyhow, to the point, is he basing his weather prediction on the view outside his Newcastle office? He must be because:
First on ‘staff shortages’, NHS Scotland has pro rata 50% more nurses than NHS England:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-19-00620/
Second, NHS Scotland has pro rata 20% more consultants:
Note on the reliability of the above reference, you’ll see there a screen capture of the Health Secretary’s actual answer to Parliament.
Third, staff absences have been declining, in Scotland, for six weeks in a row, to half the January 2021 level and a quarter of the April 2020 level:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-trends-in-daily-data/
Fourth, hospital admissions are falling from a September peak to only half of that in February 2021 and to lower than that in April 2020:
Scotland Coronavirus Tracker
Fifth, NHS Scotland has, pro rata, nearly 50% more beds:
https://www.interweavetextiles.com/how-many-hospital-beds-uk/
Is this the view from Griffin’s Newcastle window?
Talking-up Scotland 
John,
You really do have a chip on your shoulder when it comes to the Royal Colleges.
Members of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh will come from all parts of the UK. When surgeons, or physicians, sit their membership exams, MRCS (UK) or MRCP (UK), at or just after the end of their 2 year post-grad training they choose which Royal College they wish to join. Their choice may be based on long family connections with a particular RC, where they are working at the time of the exam or where they aim to be working as their career progresses.
Some years after their MRCS or MRCP exams they will sit their Specialist Fellowship exams and continue their membership of their RC of choice. The members/fellows of any RC will be working throughout the UK and many will be working abroad. It is from the Fellows that the President of the College is elected and it is a position that in no way can be characterised as a convenor ship.
Perhaps you should refrain from the denigration of someone’s position and stick to the facts which are often powerful enough on their own without trying to belittle someone’s position.
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That’s all very worthy but still undergraduate stuff and the proliferation of profs across HE and their hospital partners is widely resented by hard-earned profs, not just me.
I’m not trying to belittle but to puncture self-aggrandisement.
What’s wrong with an accurate title of surgeon or doctor or head or director? What’s so sexy about prof?
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Perhaps refrain from nit picking when the learned Prof John is making a point about someone misleading people and using their status (in part an actual made up status) and in effect telling porkies about Scotland’s NHS.
People who embellish their qualifications to do down Scotland, need to be called out.
Thank you, professor John for the interesting article.
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Do point us to your evidence, and how many ‘Royal colleges’ are there in Scotland. Lets rename after independence.
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”Perfect storm hitting our NHS ” – Tory Government , Brexit , PM Johnson and Alister Jack !
Thank God we have the uncomplaining Sandesh Gulhane working his socks off as a GP to offset the damage !
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