The Herald’s Steven Camley has a long track record of cringy comments on the communities he lives among. Not for him, the wit, not the courage, to satirise the powerful who keep us down.
Today he sneers at Scotland’s GPs and housing supply to reinforce that kind of ill-informed personal experience-based moaning that Reporting Scotland can always find.
Never mind the facts when a cheap laugh at yer ain folk is what you love.
Never mind:
From the Scottish Government on 28 May 2024:
84% of people who needed to see or speak to a doctor / nurse quite urgently were seen within 2 working days.
From NHS England:
The average waiting time for a routine GP appointment has reduced from 19 days to 10 days.
Fantastic progress in England but if the average was 10 days, I’m guessing far fewer than 84% were seen in 2.
Sources:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-care-experience-survey-2023-24-national-results/
Never mind:
The Scottish ombudsman reported around 350 housing-related complaints for 2022/2023, but these are not broken down into social and other types. In the same period, the figure in England for just social housing complaints was 6 590, pro rata, around twice as many as for all housing-related complaints in Scotland.
Sources:
Never mind:
In 2007/2008, the last year of evidence from Labour’s management of the Scottish economy, 1 444 affordable and 4 226 social homes were completed.
In the intervening years, those annual figures soared as high as 2 385 and 8 081!
After falling in the last year to 2 679 and 6 835, trash media reporting is trying to make hay with the one year fall but note, these figures remain 50% higher than what Labour could do and come at the end of 16 years of consecutive outperforming of them by the SNP Government.
In total, 131 758 of the crucial, to fight poverty, social rent homes built.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-completions-updates/
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
While fewer will be built in 2024-2025 because of Scottish Budget priorities, it is worth bearing in mind the Scottish Government has built more homes per 10,000 people than the other countries in the UK and that the cut was mitigated from April by the decision to charge up to double Council Tax on second homes. All but three Local Authorities are implementing the policy.
https://www.gov.scot/news/council-tax-on-second-homes/
“The changes aim to help increase housing availability by encouraging more homes to be used for living in.”
“Latest figures, published in December 2023, show that there are over 24,000 second homes in Scotland.”
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Phone early or late to get an appointment or call back. The Tories cut NHS funding. They spent £270Billion, over two years on Covid. £Billions were wasted on non scrutinised PPE contracts.
People got emergency treatment, even through Covid. Many people did not attend for clinics or operations because of COVID. Health (unionist) Boards did not allow Doctors to attend patients waiting in ambulances. Many healthcare workers left because of Brexit.
Westminster needs to fund the NHS properly. To catch up and make things better. Doctors in Scotland were not on strike. They got the increase they needed. Higher paid staff and better treatment.
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Scottish Gov funding more affordable homes. 6,000 affordable homes built or renovated a year. 17,000 private built. Cost have increased because of Brexit. Higher mortgage rates mean people cannot afford houses.
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