stewartb
Whatever else they may be, the weekly over 12 hour wait statistic from NHS Scotland is transparent and credible unlike the 12 hour metric for A&E waits published monthly by NHS England. In a recent House of Lords report the latter was referred to as ‘dishonest’: the report gave an example of the likely scale of the deception on patients and the wider voting public in England.
Source: Public Services Committee, House of Lords (19 January, 2023) Emergency healthcare: a national emergency (https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5803/ldselect/pubserv/130/130.pdf )
Para 81: ‘The data NHS England publishes monthly show the number of patients who wait 12 hours or more AFTER A ‘DECISION TO ADMIT’, when a clinician decides a patient should be admitted to hospital, but NOT THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS WHO WAIT 12 HOURS OR MORE AFTER ARRIVING AT A&E. .. ‘
Para 82: ‘The Royal College of Emergency Medicine report that in August 2022, OVER 133,000 PATIENTS WAITED MORE THAN 12 HOURS FROM ARRIVAL AT A&E – A FIGURE FIVE TIMES HIGHER THAN THE 28,000 REPORTED BY NHS ENGLAND. (my emphasis)
‘Dr Adrian Boyle, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, argued that this manner of reporting waiting times was “A FUNDAMENTALLY DISHONEST WAY OF REPORTING DATA. IT IS HIDING AND DOING OUR PATIENTS A DISSERVICE BY MINIMISING A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM”.
How the latest, improving NHS Scotland performance data have been reported, or rather not reported, reveals the extent of the political bias, including by omission, against the Scottish Government of the corporate media and the BBC in Scotland. I really should no longer be surprised but, candidly it becomes so blatant at times that it can still shock!
It’s not only that reassuring information for the public at large is being suppressed. These same media outlets have consistently and over an extended period aggregated and amplified the ‘outrage’ cries of opposition politicians in Holyrood over the performance of NHS Scotland.
They have done so without context or perspective, failing to mention that the ministerial scalp hunters in chief belong to political parties in government in parts of the UK – England and Wales – where NHS performance is mostly worse than in Scotland.
And of course we rarely if ever see journalists produce objective comparisons of performance between the nations of the UK. The latter seems to be a relevant type of analysis only for narrowest range of topics, like drug deaths!
Talking-up Scotland 
Off topic, but indicative of how selective the BBC in general and BBC Scotland in particular is.
There are two newsworthy stories today (after the appalling tragedy in Turkey and Syria): 1. The Supreme Court Ruling on the Northern Ireland Protocol and 2. the finding guilty of a former MP of embezzlement.
The first: the Protocol has been a major news item for more than 5 years, with the mendacious Johnson waving his willy about unilaterally breaching an agreement he signed up to. The BBC has been only mildly critical of this stance. Today, it is only 10th in a list of items on the BBC front page.
The second relates to Mr Jared O’Mara, former Labour MP for a Sheffield constituency, who had a cocaine habit and falsified expenses as an MP to fund it. There is no mention of his party. Again, this is relegated to a lowly position. Contrast that to the conviction of Natalie McGarry, also a former MP. Every piece about her was the lead story for BBC Scotland , with SNP MP highlighted.
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The ”Sack Humza Yousaf !” brigade have toned down their strident calls in the last few days as the A & E figures ( that have been produced BUT not widely publicised by the unbiased Scottish Media – pause for laughter ) have continued to improve .
However , not to worry ! They will soon find something else rotten to complain about and blame on the SNP .
Have you seen the size of a Mars Bar now compared to when Nicola Sturgeon came to Office ? – ”Sack Humza Yousaf ! ”
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Latest polling by “find out now” along with electoral calculus (in the Torygraf) predicts a HUGE Labour landslide with the SNP as the main opposition with 50 MPs.
A preposterously large majority brings its own problems as the media will have little else to do, but examine every detail of Labour MPs lives.
Nor will a preponderance of English MPs give them a mandate to mis-rule Auld Scotia. Union Jock Murray will prance about with his plumed bunnet on, but will still be the clown we all know and detest.
How will the “Scottish” majah handle all THAT?
Just as things for the Britnat commentariat were going so swimmingly, the SNP will be reported daily on the UK news bulletins. Their every word trumpeted as the “Official Opposition!!!
The dastardly “Nats” will get equal time (and pro-indy journalist also) on all the politiking shows giving “Laura K and Andra’ Neil apoplexy.
Pro-indy journalists will get time to peruse the newspapers and talk about the weather.
Tom Gordon, Juan and Glenn will be relegated to fronting up a gardening show, or perhaps “how to buy a holiday house in Utter Mongolia”–Cauld-Ham could be their “expert” buyer.
The one-man Starmer band that is the new “New Labour” party will soon collapse under its own contradictions and fantasy economics.
Independence very soon.
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