With the Express, I wonder where to begin. Mostly, such is the stench, I can’t be bothered correcting them but, now and again, I think someone might believe their garbage.
So, ‘50 attacks‘ – Unison carefully do not tell us how many were physical assaults.
Click to access 1-11-22-violence-against-NHS-staff-survey-22-FINAL.pdf
In 2018, Unison reported 18 720 physical assaults in England:
So, we can estimate around 1 900 physical assaults in Scotland?
Among 160 000 staff, 1 900 represents 1.2%?, 1 in 84 staff.
160 000 staff, each working around 230 shifts per year is 37 million days in which a physical assault could have taken place, so shifts in which a physical assault takes place, 0.005%, 1 in every 19 000 shifts.
Lawless Scotland? Half the overall crime of England and Wales. Homicide falling below that in England and Wales. Violent crime down on the 5-year average.
What’s happening in NHS England? “Government to stop recording assaults on NHS staff“:
Government to stop recording assaults on NHS staff
Other sources:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2020-2021/documents/
Click to access recorded-crime-scotland-2021-22.pdf
Talking-up Scotland 
I recall a colleague who was the representative of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association. He advised his (very few) fellow members to log every incidence of a pupil showing some kind of resistance to instructions – for example, sighing loudly, grimacing, asking ‘why?’ …. to log these as assaults, because, he asserted, they caused stress. Now, persistent resistance can, indeed, be stressful, but, it is part of a teacher’s job to manage children’s behaviour. His view was ‘he should not be expected to do that.’
So he and his chums logged several such things each day. The Directorate, pompously, announced that ‘if a teacher feels stressed, then it is not for school managements to question it. That the teacher feels stressed is a failure of management.’
Such spurious loggings were published and pounced on by local media as proof of ‘the blackboard jungle’.
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I don’t have a problem with newspapers drawing attention to societal ‘problems’ nor to them holding elected politicians to account. However, I demand accuracy; I demand that journalists with their professional access to research skills and resources provide appropriate context and perspective. And I demand some balance and equality of treatment of different governments. Otherwise their output can usually be discounted.
From the headline – its reference to ‘the SNP’s lawless Scotland’ – it’s clear we can expect no accuracy, no context or perspective, no balance etc here. But then this is the Scottish Daily Express – all to predictable – a newspaper that has long had a deficit of ambition when it comes to providing a public service.
So let’s give some perspective – let’s talk about the Tories’ lawless England:
Source: ‘Violence against NHS staff: letter to the workforce’ -from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, published 18 February 2020:
‘There is far too much violence against NHS staff, and too much acceptance that it’s part of the job. Far too often I hear stories that the people you are trying to help lash out. I’ve seen it for myself in A&Es, on night shifts, and on ambulances.
‘I am horrified that any member of the public would abuse or physically assault a member of our NHS staff but it happens too often.
‘The 2019 NHS Staff Survey showed 15% of NHS staff experienced physical violence from members of the public and patients in the past year – this rises to 34% among ambulance trust staff.
‘It is appalling that this happens at all. Even more so that it happens disproportionately to black and minority ethnic staff. It is a tribute to you, your professionalism and your resilience that so often you persevere in providing the highest quality care, despite the small minority who are abusive towards you. I want you to know that the government and the public are firmly on your side.’
This was written by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock in an open letter to NHS England staff on 18 February 2020: ‘Violence against NHS staff: letter to the workforce;.
And more recently (22 Mar 2022): ‘Abuse of staff at “dangerous level”, say NHS bosses’ :
Source: https://www.hsjjobs.com/article/abuse-of-staff-at-dangerous-level-say-nhs-bosses
‘Healthcare leaders have written an open message to NHS staff, drawing attention to “the dangerous level” of abuse many are confronted with, “simply for going to work”.
‘In the message, more than 40 NHS leaders in London said that every year “tens of thousands” of NHS staff are “confronted with violence and aggression from patients”.
“Now, the abuse is at a dangerous level, with many of our once hailed heroes fearing for their safety,” they said.
“We, leaders of the NHS in London, are speaking with one voice to say that aggression and violence towards our staff will not be tolerated.”
Did the Daily Express tell its readers in England about any of this I wonder? In the face of crap, partisan journalism, so called ‘whataboutery’ is wholly justified IMHO!
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THIS IS THE CRAP WE NEED TO ATTACK
ALL YES VOTERS MUST CALL INTO QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF THESE PAPERS
AND PLASTER ALL LIES ACROSS ALL SOCIAL MEDIA
wat is the daily paid for sales on this English RAG
THEY AND ALL SO-CALLED SCOTTISH Papers MUST BE CALL INTO QUESTION
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I agree that the Express headline is absurd, however in MHO, it is also an indication that all is not well in Express Land, in that they have to try to be ever more sensationalist just to keep going, even if that means making up stories.
The Express in Scotland sells more daily copies than the Herald and Scotsman combined, but its daily circulation is now just under 20K.
A more suitable headline (others are available), would be “Under pressure Express journalists face ridicule by an increasingly astute Scottish public”
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Once again, I repeat this message!
Get on to Points of View and complain!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001drl5/points-of-view-2022-episode-19
The more we complain, the more they will take notice.
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David, I have no issue with what you suggest as a way forward as regards the BBC and their falsehoods.
However, in this case, the article is from the Scottish Daily Express and remarkably, so far, not the BBC 🙂
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The “SNP’s lawless Scotland” is pretty desperate even for the Express, presumably NHS staff seek refuge in Labour Morningside or Tory Dumfries between shifts…
Incidents of threatening behaviour against emergency service personnel are the exception rather than the rule, exaggerations as to frequency arise when pay-rises are being pursued, when suddenly the numbers are huge and “likely to be even higher”, before again disappearing following pay award.
Given Scottish media’s obsession with propaganda, presumably a BBC featurette from Lazy Winters will appear shortly with frothing quotes from Disaster Gulhane and Tsunami Baillie…
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