stewartb
On 21 November, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) published a report entitled ‘Right Place, Right Care: Learning the Lessons from the UK Crisis in Urgent and Emergency Care in 2022’.
It was co-produced with the following healthcare organisations:
Association of Paediatric Emergency Medicine, British Geriatrics Society, British Thoracic Society, British Society of Gastroenterology, Centre for Perioperative Care, Diabetes UK, The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, Royal College of Anaesthetists, The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College Paediatrics and Child Health, The Royal College of Pathologists, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Psychiatrists, The Royal College of Radiologists and The Society for Acute Medicine.
The Executive Summary states (with my emphasis): ‘Patients are being DISADVANTAGED BY AN URGENT AND EMERGENCY CARE SYSTEM THAT DOES NOT HAVE ADEQUATE CAPACITY AT EVERY STAGE’ and adds ‘The GREATEST HARM OF THIS CRISIS IS BEING BORNE BY THE MOST VULNERABLE; older people, children, the psychiatrically unwell and those living with serious long-term conditions.’
In a press release, the President of the RCEM is quoted referring to: “expert analysis as well as DEEPLY MOVING PATIENT TESTIMONIES” as well as adding “Compiling (the report) has been A SOBERING EXPERIENCE AND IT BRINGS INTO SHARP FOCUS MANY OF THE SERIOUS ISSUES FACING THE HEALTH SERVICE.” In the same press statement, the President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health says “CHILD HEALTH IS IN A CRISIS, and we can see it first hand in our paediatric emergency care” and goes on “Last winter was one of the toughest on record for paediatrics, and WITH LITTLE PROGRESS HAVING BEEN MADE THIS YEAR it is easy to feel discouraged.”
Explicitly aimed at policy makers and published in the context of an upcoming UK general election, the report purports to be UK-wide in the scope of its analysis and its recommendations. However, most of its data sources are just for NHS England and the ‘patient testimonies’ are not located geographically.
As far as I can determine, this new report from the RCEM and others has RECEIVED ZERO COVERAGE FROM THE BBC – unless you know otherwise? Given the range of negative references contained in its text, it would be a BBC Scotland headline writer and journalist’s dream source! Odd what gets the ‘creative juices’ flowing in different parts of the BBC!
So here we have omission from BBC News of a critical and comprehensive report from highly credible organisations about A&E services, mostly evidenced from England. From prior evidence on TuS, we know of the sharp contrast between the intense, always negatively framed news coverage of A&E services in NHS Scotland and the ‘light touch’ coverage of equivalent matters in England and Wales. And we also know of the highly politicised news coverage of NHS Scotland in sharp contrast with the tone of coverage by the BBC of NHS news stories in England and Wales.
In such circumstances – where there is no context, no perspective, no comparative evaluation concerning NHS Scotland relative to the NHS in other parts of the UK provided by the BBC or others in the pro-Union mainstream media (unless there is a negative to be drawn out) – what’s left to mitigate their gaslighting narratives? What’s left other than attempts to fill even just a bit of the information void via TuS?
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
And good on you sir!!!
Keep up the vital work!!!
🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
LikeLiked by 2 people
Perhaps the BBC is taking the Michael Gove approach to ”experts” and simply ignoring them ?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Why am I anonymous – again ?
LikeLike
For the fascist right wing liblabtory profit driven mind, this report, or bits of it, will be used to justify privatisation. Instead, we should be using it to try westminster politicians for policy driven homicide.
Golfnut
LikeLike
However correct your observation on lack of coverage by the BBC, in reality this applies to all sections of the media – A cursory search for the report title turns up nothing aside those who were involved in the report attempting to publicise it.
Were that to change, for sure the first Scots would hear of it is would be on a political failure angle from the usual suspects at BBC Scotland, viz the distraction/diversion game so often documented here.
As previously commented, the most troubling aspect of modern journalism is not necessarily collusion, but the degree to which it can be manipulated – Most journalists reference a ‘pool’ of trending and breaking “news” from which to report – What goes into that ‘pool’ and what does not is theoretically at the behest of independent journalists, but is it ? I have serious doubts over that.
BBC Scotland has long been the dominant contributor to the ‘pool’ on Scottish affairs, what they do NOT report rarely appears elsewhere.
eg Many in England would still recognise the photo of Millie Main even if they couldn’t name the unfortunate girl, such was the extensive coverage of the QEUH political smear campaign spearheaded by BBC Scotland – More tragic revelations in England’s hospitals were obscured from national exposure by the simple device of what was happening (or not) north of the border.
A further trick they deploy is the ‘What the papers say’ feature, proof that the press are pursuing the same ‘story’ of ‘public interest’, rather than following BBC Scotland’s lead, ie amplification of the amplification.
On your “what’s left to mitigate their gaslighting narratives?”, all that can be done is keep exposing it and expanding awareness.
Even were not a solitary TV licence purchased in Scotland, Pacific Quay would continue to be funded by London in order that their ‘news management’ dominates.
LikeLike