From BBC Health, this morning:
There is deep concern at a senior level in the NHS about rising rates of flu. The number of patients in hospital with flu continues to climb, according to latest NHS figures in England.
Last week, the numbers averaged 5,407 a day – up from just under 4,500 the week before. As we mentioned a moment ago, the numbers in hospital have risen again over the past week, with nearly 5,000 beds occupied on average last week by patients struggling with the virus.
NHS England’s emergency care director Prof Julian Redhead says there are no signs of the outbreak letting up. On top of that there are another 1,700 patients with Covid or the vomiting bug Norovirus.
While there are around 100,000 hospital beds in England, the fact so many (around 95%) were occupied going into winter explains why this flu season is causing the NHS so many problems. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cvgxg7kd6p4t
So, with one tenth of the population, all things being equal, Scotland should have around 550 flu patients in hospital?
It’s 1 537.
https://publichealthscotland.scot/news/2025/january/flu-activity-continues-to-rise-in-scotland/
Nearly three times as many and yet no signs of ‘deep concern?’
Why?
There are 12 nurses per 1 000 people in Scotland but only 9 in the UK. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/uk-fewer-nurses-per-head-33961132
Scotland has 27.3% more GPs than England. https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/sep/04/nhs-faces-tipping-point-in-england-where-most-appointments-will-not-be-with-gps https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/media/v00by43i/2023_gp_workforce_survey_report.html#:~:text=Information%20from%202012%20to%202023,2023%2C%20equivalent%20to%203%2C478.4%20WTE
Scotland has cleaner hospitals as evidenced by far lower hospital-acquired Covid cases. Independent sources on this.
NHS Scotland has a bed for every 403 people whereas for NHS England it was 433. https://www.interweavetextiles.com/how-many-hospital-beds-uk/
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
BBCScorchedland omits to highlight the rising number of ‘Flu cases in Scotland as its staff are currently working flat out to complete their docu on the state of Calmac ferries .
Panic ensued when the new Ferguson ferry passed its sea trials and is about to enter service . So a meeting of their Ferry Correspondents was hurriedly convened in the Hydro ( only venue available to cope with the numbers ) to brainstorm ideas that might undermine this good news .
HMS James Cook’s suggestion of actually sabotaging the ferry was considered but rejected on the basis of no one at BBCScorchedland having the balls to actually do something concrete .
Naturally , it’s called ”A Fairy story !”
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The BBC News website is showing a lot of activity today on the matter of NHS England’s newly released performance statistics. It’s interesting to note how the reporting has been approached.
Firstly on A&E waits, the actual NHS England release reveals: ’55.3% of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within 4 hours in Type 1 A&E departments compared with 57.0% in November 2024, and 54.7% in December 2023.’
’.. 54,207 were delayed over 12 hours (from decision to admit to admission). This equates to 1,749 decision to admit delays over 12 hours per day, an increase of 23.6% (334 patients daily) from December 2023. (my emphasis)
Source: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/Statistical-commentary-December-2024-Mk7V61p.pdf
And from the accompanying: ‘Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS) Data November 2024 and December 2024 (Provisional) Statistical Commentary’, on Twelve Hour Delays:
• ‘Of all the total attendances in November 2024, 157,556 spent more than 12 hours from arrival at A&E (10.8%).
• ‘Of all the total attendances in December 2024, 166,989 spent more than 12 hours from arrival at A&E (12.0%)’.
To the BBC coverage, within the BBC News website’s ‘live reporting’ thread today we find this on NHS England’s A&E performance:
In another article on the BBC News website – ‘Alarm as skyrocketing flu cases add to NHS strains’ – Triggle writes: ‘Just 71% of patients visiting A&E were seen and treated or admitted within the target time of four hours’. Once again, the BBC avoids, when reporting on NHS England, mentioning the much poorer performance figure for Type 1 departments, the ones that most folk would regard as ‘proper’ A&E.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has yet (at 1300 hours) to comment on the latest performance data. But when it does – unlike the BBC – it will focus on two main statistics: (I) the 55.3% of patients treated within the four-hour standard in Type 1 emergency departments – a hugely different figure from the one the BBC’s Triggle opts to focus on; and (I) the increase in 12 hour or more waits from time of arrival – which the BBC’s Triggle appears to ignore entirely.
Returning to the BBC’s coverage of NHS England’s latest release of performance data, its ‘live reporting’ thread includes short pieces inserted on how similarly ‘bad’ things are in NI, Scotland and Wales, and even tells us things are bad in France and Spain too. Of course the Scotland piece, written by Lisa Summers, gives NO actual comparative performance statistics for NHS Scotland.
Finally, I can find no oppositional political input to the BBC News website’s coverage. Throughout the framing emphasises: (a) that NHS England is not exceptional; the rest of the UK and beyond are in the same situation; and (b) the performance may not be good but there are reasons viz. number of cases of flu.
Similar news stories published on the BBC News website about Scotland would have Baillie and Gulhane quoted at length, amplifying their ‘analysis’: ‘NHS Scotland is sh…. and it’s all down to SNPbad’!
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It was noticeable opposition parties leaders did not give any feedback to the PM during Question Time yesterday (or in previous PMQTs) about the crisis in NHS England and the awful experience of their constituents in A&E, in the same way that Anas Sarwar did at FMQT today.
If it is obvious to the public then it must be obvious to The Speaker too.
Also why has there not been an emergency debate in parliament about the crisis?
A conspiracy of silence?
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Hmmm… “Nearly three times as many flu cases in Scotland” . Whilst I don’t doubt the accuracy of the Scottish stats, why is it I have real problems believing that England has, relatively speaking, so few cases given that their vaccination rates are usually lower than Scotland? Sorry to be so skeptical, but I just don’t believe it; after all they do have form, e.g. A&E waiting times reports.
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And now today, I see Centrica, British Gas, have just issued a warning that gas reserves are dangerously low. Another Westminster failure.
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