From BBC Health this morning, we see that in October, 150 000 patients, more than 10%, waited 12 hours or more in NHS England A&E departments. The figure is Scotland was 6,814 (5.4%).
Chris Hopson, the chief strategy officer for NHS England was interviewed. The Health Secretary for England was not. The UK opposition parties did not accuse him of anything.
Talking-up Scotland 
STV News did a hatchet job on the Scottish NHS last night . Not content with pouring out negative news from their studio they descended en mass to an NHS Call Centre – that will help !
They interviewed a woman who , while seriously ill in an an ambulance waiting to get into A & E , testified that there were another 17 ambulances queued up to get into said A&E dept .
While not doubting the credibility of her claim , nor understanding how this story was conveyed to STV ( did SHE contact them ? ) , I do not remember Lisa Summers reporting on this calamity when she is normally waiting with a camera crew on stand-by to be helicoptered in to a potential A & E choke point such as this alleged case .
Perhaps one evening the STV hit squad might descend on one of the vast majority of satisfied patients treated at A & E and allow them the airtime to give the staff who treated them a wee boost by PRAISING their efforts .
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The UK Health Secretary is not responsible for the NHS in England, that was transferred to various user groups in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
It looks like no single person has responsibility for anything in NHS England.
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As has always been the case with the Scottish media whenever a ‘bad’ news stort appears in England BBC Scot, STV and others are on the starting blocks to ensure that Scotland is not immune.and preferably if possible is materially worse. They have no other agenda than to show SNP Scotland in the worst possible light. No doubt they will be working feverishly to find a ” Michelle Mone Belle End ….” link to an SNP supporter.
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That has been the pattern since the SNP came to power in 2007 however it does hot always work out for the media. Yesterday was a case in point. The media in Scotland went hig on the report that Scotland had missed its targets to cut emissions – Scotland/Sturgeon no longer world leader etc etc.
Then at the end of the day the UKGov announces it has given the go-ahead for a coal mine in Cumbria which really pulled the rug out from under the Scottish emissions story. Cue egg on media faces.
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