stewartb

It’s been a busy day (14 December) for the BBC covering the latest insights into the performance of the NHS. The Corporation’s approach has been interesting to observe:

– the Radio 4 Today programme had a piece from the BBC’s own Nick Triggle on how much longer handovers from ambulances to A&E departments were taking in NHS England. He also told listeners – to provide helpful perspective as part of the BBC’s public service no doubt – that the same problems were present across the UK.

– ‘national’ news bulletins during the Today programme reported on the same topic but without reference to ‘across the UK’. However, it did so in customary fashion: (i) give a description of the ‘bad’ issue WITHOUT ANY indication of geographic scope; then (ii) introduce an England-only statistic, the thing that triggered having this item on the news in the first place; and then (iii) leave the audience with the implication that the England-only statistic has wider significance across the UK; but (iv) close with the positives of what is being done to alleviate the problem, but only refer to such positives in England. (This way of constructing news items that have their locus in England but with scope to imply that things are no better elsewhere in the UK is typical of the Today programme.)

– opting to make much of this ambulance item, the Today programme conducted an interview with a senior NHS England executive: at no point across the programme was the ambulance services ‘issue’ politicised – no Westminster government minister was ‘harmed’ – not even mentioned – in the reporting of this matter!

However, in amongst all this APOLITICAL coverage of failings within NHS England, the Today programme’s Nick Robinson interviewed Mark Drakeford in the context of the latter’s resignation as First Minister of Wales. It did not take the BBC interviewer long to challenge Mr Drakeford and his Labour government’s record on the poor performance of NHS Wales. The contrast in how the BBC chose to cover NHS matters in England and in Wales was stark.

The aforementioned Mr Triggle later in the day put an article on the BBC News website with this headline: ‘The hospitals struggling the most as winter bites‘. Despite a catalogue of matters regarding NHS England’s poor performance, including on ambulance handover times upon arrival at A&E departments, again there is ZERO politicisation in the article! A senior NHS England executive is afforded space to make positive remarks to balance the negative news.

Then we turn to the BBC in Scotland and the article on the BBC News website entitled ‘Ambulance pressures: ‘You can’t get to everybody’‘. Now that’s a pejorative headline for negatively framing a news story if ever I saw one! The lengthy article that follows continues in the same vein.

And in its report of FMQs from Holyrood today, BBC Scotland’s political correspondent Philip Sim writes: ‘… Douglas Ross had come up with some fairly indefensible examples – like one patient waiting for 15 hours outside a hospital. In terms of the broader debate, Mr Ross was also on familiar territory – criticising the state of services, and saying that is the fault of the party which has been in government since 2007.’

The irony of that latter statement may have been lost on this BBC journalist, unaccustomed as he and his BBC Scotland colleagues are to providing context or perspective!

Mr Ross no doubt feels able to make such remarks – even as someone whose party has long been the government (with ALL resources at its disposal) responsible for the poorly performing NHS England – because he is confident that the BBC’s Mr Sim and his ilk WILL NOT PROVIDE THE CONTEXT OR PERSPECTIVE that would make the ludicrous and hypocritical position of Mr Ross all too apparent!

On the day negative news on ambulance services emerges in England, BBC Scotland majors on ambulance services in Scotland and the Tory leader in Scotland majors on ambulance services at FMQs. Is this not an amazing coincidence?