Professor John Robertson OBA
The above report, two days ago, in the Times, is just the latest in a stream of BMA Scotland activity which diverges from the BMA UK‘s tendency to report favourably on the Scottish Government’s handling of the NHS (more on this below).
The findings referred to are from the General Medical Council‘s 2025 National Training Survey.1
In it, the word ‘safety‘ appears 9 times but is never linked to Scotland specifically. Indeed the only link of this kind is made to Norfolk University Hospitals Foundation Trust!
As for ‘Scotland‘, this only appear in four tables which reveal, to counter BMA Scotland’s agenda, the lowest response rate (25%) by trainers (48% in Wales) and the lowest risk of burnout by trainees (16% compared to 20% in England).
Not mentioned of course:
From the Westminster (UK Parliament) Health Committee, in January 2022:
The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), introduced by the SNP Scottish Government in 2007, has been praised by a leading European expert on patient safety.
In Westminster’s Health Committee, Dr Pelle Gustafson, CMO at Swedish Patient Insurer, responded with “Scotland”, when he was asked which country he would hold at the very top pillar with regards to patient safety.Dr Gustfason said: “If you take all preventative work in regard to patient safety, I would say Scotland, I am personally very impressed with Scotland. I think in Scotland you have a long tradition of working, you have a development in the right direction and you also have a system which is fairly equal all over the place. You have improvement activities going on. So I am very impressed by Scotland”. https://mobile.twitter.com/DrGregorSmith/status/1481211002301685760
How BMA Scotland and BMA UK diverge on their view of the SNP Government’s performance:
Sources:
- chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/national-training-survey-2025-results-report-111657596.pdf
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
BMA ( Scotland ) under the leadership (sic ) of Dr Iain Kennedy is seriously threatening to become the leading anti-SNP propaganda outlet ahead of BBC Scotland and The Herald .
If Dr Kennedy can get a few unfavourable mentions of Ferries and dead pigeons into his anti-Scottish Government rants then he is odds on to be voted Best Scottish Propagandist of the Year at the annual Damn Jackie Baillie Troughing Dinner , where he will be feted by Brylcreem Gulhane and Lisa Summers .
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Thanks but we don’t need the greedy BritNat troughers’ names they already get enough attention via MSM.
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I suppose it’s still an arm of the English BMA, so will never not be biased. It’s HQ’d in London.
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then there’s this.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/09/radioactive-water-bomb-base-scotland-leak-sea-files
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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/radioactive-water-uk-nuclear-bomb-110052247.html
If I may leave this here – A story in today’s Guardian about British incompetence poisoning the Scottish population again, as ever covering it up.
Rgds,
Graham
Radioactive water from UK nuclear bomb base leaked into sea, files show
Radioactive water from the base that holds the UK’s nuclear bombs was allowed to leak into the sea after old pipes repeatedly burst, official files have revealed.
The radioactive material was released into Loch Long, a sea loch near Glasgow in western Scotland, because the Royal Navy failed to properly maintain a network of 1,500 water pipes on the base, a regulator found.
The armaments depot at Coulport on Loch Long is one of the most secure and secretive military sites in the UK. It holds the Royal Navy’s supply of nuclear warheads for its fleet of four Trident submarines, which are based nearby.
Files compiled by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), a government pollution watchdog, suggest that up to half the components at the base were beyond their design life when the leaks occurred.
Sepa said the flooding at Coulport was caused by “shortfalls in maintenance”, resulting in the release of “unnecessary radioactive waste” in the form of low levels of tritium, which is used in nuclear warheads.
In one report in 2022, the agency blamed the leaks on the navy’s repeated failure to maintain the equipment in the area devoted to storing the warheads, and said plans to replace 1,500 old pipes at risk of bursting were “sub-optimal”.
The leaks are revealed in a cache of confidential inspection reports and emails given to the investigative website the Ferret and shared with the Guardian, which Sepa and the Ministry of Defence fought to keep secret.
They were released on the orders of David Hamilton, the Scottish information commissioner, who polices Scotland’s freedom of information laws, after a six-year long battle by reporters for access to the files.
The UK government insisted the files had to be kept secret for national security reasons, but in June Hamilton ruled that most had to be released. He said their disclosure threatened “reputations” not national security.
They were released in August following a further delay after the MoD asked for more time to review them, citing “additional national security considerations”.
Nuclear warheads are fitted on to the UK’s supply of Trident missiles at Coulport where the missiles are loaded on to Vanguard class submarines before they head to sea for secret patrols as part of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
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Thanks Graham
Just spotted this.
Have earlier responded to the BBC report with extra from an early TuS report.
John
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O/T apologies
Keir Starmer, the now well known Nigel Farage tribute act………..
Starmer has tweeted in homage to Farage , the leader of Reform UK, that he, Starmer as UK PM , has now chosen to imitate and so adopt much of his, Farage’s, rhetoric and intended actions…..on Immigrants.
Starmer tweeted this yesterday…..
“I won’t stand for illegal workers who try to cheat our immigration system. It’s not fair on working people who play by the rules. We’ve already arrested hundreds of delivery riders working illegally across the country. We won’t stop there — we’ve invested £5 million to boost immigration enforcement teams”.
A statement taken straight from the Reform UK party playbook and also the Trump playbook as well….the vibe being……
“illegal workers” coming over here cheating our (painfully slow and understaffed and under resourced ) immigration system….. well “we have arrested hundreds” of these ‘scoundrels’ and we, Labour as the new UK government, have also taken a leaf out of Trump’s (Fascist) playbook in forming ‘immigration enforcement teams’ ….
It was reported this year that……
“In America US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is offering recruitment bonuses of up to $50,000 (£37,700) and student loan help to “brave and heroic” Americans interested in helping with the Trump administration’s deportation drive.
Starmer also tweeted this today:
“If you come to this country and commit a crime, you don’t get to stay here. You will face deportation at the earliest opportunity”.
Starmer , as a #Trump-Farage protégé, only wants ‘British (English) criminals to commit crimes in Britain (England)”.just as Trump only wants ‘(White) American criminals to commit crimes in America’….
So in a Starmer compare and contrast exercise with Trump you have to recognise that there is a strong comparison to be made and very little contrast between what Trump is doing and saying in America and what Starmer is doing and saying in Britain ……and also what a Farage PM would also likely do and say as well…….
Though Farage considers that some immigrants should be allowed to fill the jobs that Brits will not or cannot do….also known as using people, who at some point if no longer required , will then be unceremoniously ejected (deported) from Farage Fascist Britain……
BTW that position on Immigration from Farage was met with a lot of hostility and opposition from many Reform UK party supporters…..whose own position was one where they wanted it to be more a case of ….. ‘Make England White…..again’ ?
Trump’s position on Immigrants in America ….
Well Trump has said he is targeting people who he says are in the US illegally-his pledge is to conduct mass deportations– his administration has resumed raids at workplaces–
Coincidentally…..here in the UK …..
Starmer is also targeting people who he says are in the UK illegally– his pledge is also to conduct mass deportations– he is also condoning raids of workplaces (like those workplaces who employ delivery drivers)……
I thought that I could not detest Keir Starmer more than I already do, but he just keeps on giving me even more reasons to do so………an absolutely awful person and PM , not fit for public office and most certainly not fit to criticise the SNP , (any of) the Scottish FM(s) or indeed the Scottish government’s actions and words….
Though they, the SNP, are not as callous and ruthless as Starmer and his UK Labour government are .
So I guess that then makes the SNP the polar opposite of the Labour party , both politically and morally……….they , the SNP, are considered to be the nemesis of the Labour party………both within and outwith Scotland.
(Where Labour are known to have have adopted what is known as the ‘Bain principle’ aka petty politics as in them being overtly narrowminded).
Vote Labour get Reform UK……. but also get Trump’s Republican party……(all are) cheeks of the same A**** (a big one)…….who all , as part of that A*** only deliver S*** to those that they govern so very very very badly.
Liz S
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Westminster cut NHS funding for 15 years. The Scottish Gov has to mitigate the cuts. Covid spending £270Billion over two years.
Westminster is decreasing welfare £5Billion. Increasing Defence spending £5Billion. Illegal wars, financial fraud and tax evasion.Labour. How many more people will die. Killed by Westminster policies.
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