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Still struggling to even approach our target despite around 8 fully-researched posts per day, read by around 2 000 visitors per day and more than 15 000 social media followers seeing the main points. Sobering.
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‘Sobering’ must surely be a massive understatement! I can imagine how disappointing and perhaps more crucially for the future of TuS, how disillusioning this may turn out to be.
As BBC Scotland, the Daily Record, The Herald, The Scotsman, the Daily Express, The Times and ALL the rest continue to misrepresent and gaslight, we would surely regret not having the daily counter by contributions of TuS.
It’s already a vastly uneven contest in terms of resources – even if the full £30k were to be raised – but definitely not uneven in terms of quality of the writing.
Personally, days bombarded with Unionist media output would be even harder to bear without visits to read the multiple posts and btl comments per day on TuS!
I hope there will be a surge in contributions to the fundraiser.
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Potential subscribers might be put off by headlines like this: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/09/03/with-the-greatest-respect-mrs-dr-corridor-care-is-far-less-common-in-your-hospital/ (see comments). Anonymous 1 was correct about forthrightness but the reason was passion for the job. Listen to Dr. Jayne McLaren in the video at 36-45 seconds. Listen to her voice at ~44 seconds. Probably a flashback. Something that should have gone better but for corridor care. Emergency service workers of all kinds see things that haunt them and only another such worker would understand. Even harder for those who reach the top with passion intact and see all the flaws in the system stymieing their service. Dr. Jayne McLaren wants perfection, not for herself but for us and knows she’ll never achieve it but it matters to her that her service is the best it can be for those whose lives have suddenly changed for the worse. Please amend the above entry…it was an excellent article spoiled by inappropriate comment. No objection whatsoever if you subsequently remove my comments here, above and https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/09/09/audit-shocking-50-more-waited-over-12-hours-last-year-in-nhs-england-than-in-nhs-scotland-38-000-scots-treated-faster/ (know and admire that you don’t censor alternative viewpoints). I have never met Dr. Jayne McLaren, but I cried when I heard her speak.
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RCEM is a trade union – very political
Union reps generally get paid time off for union duties.
Didn’t say she did private work
I though consultants preferred MS/Mrs to Dr?
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And of course your feelings about trade unions have varied enormously over time?
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Less than the media have over time
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The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) is most emphatically not a trade union. The role of collective bargaining, representing members in labour disputes or any other union activity would fall to the BMA (doctors could be Members (MRCEM) or – more advanced – Fellows (FRCEM) of the College and also members of their trade union, the BMA). Each medical specialty has a College which sets and maintains professional medical standards in that speciality though that may lead to a political (but not party political) role, say, in calling for better resources. An analogy might be university academics being organised into faculties…but individual academics might also be members of a trade union such as the UCU. The leaders of medical Colleges are held in high esteem by their specialist peers and speak out on professional matters on behalf of the specialty. Technically the RCEM is a Royal Charter Company and a charity. According to page 12 of the most recent set of accounts (https://rcem.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/RCEM-2025-Annual-Accounts.pdf) “The Role Holders of the College have been involved in many national and international initiatives relating to the functions of the College and do so with no remuneration for their roles, they are also leading groups of College Committees helping deliver the objectives of the College. They are released by their employers to undertake this work in the wider interests of the NHS and use their own time to assist the College.” Similarly, “No trustee or connected party received any remuneration or other benefit from the College during the year.” These personnel (usually active A&E Consultants) will devote considerable amounts of their own free time to their RCEM roles.
The point about ‘private work’ was simply to illustrate that these Consultants are true NHS heroes through and through – A&E work is not profitable (see ‘The Pitt’ regarding finance and the stress faced by staff – and that’s the USA!) All of their time is given to the NHS. Talking Up Scotland’s true NHS medics !
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Why medical ‘doctors’ are so-called is a hugely complicated story. Very briefly and probably inaccurately, the title M.D. may have originated in Scottish universities which in turn influenced the American system. American M.D.s now do a first degree before embarking on a medical degree (or do a basic science degree as part of the medical curriculum) to become M.D. Most medical students will write theses or do research but rarely to Ph.D. level. After 1707 the Scottish system gradually changed to the English M.B.B.S. or M.B.ChB. system and M.D. became a higher degree equivalent to a Ph.D. Many UK medical students also do a basic science degree or a full honours degree intercalated with their medical degree but unlike USA remain B.Sc (Hons) M.B. Ch.B. So the ‘Dr’ title is now a courtesy even though rooted in history, tradition and language. To complicate matters further, being a surgeon, including being a dental surgeon derived from the ‘barber surgeon’ tradition which was considered inferior to a physician – who held a ‘proper’ medical degree. It therefore became tradition that a modern qualified doctor on gaining surgical qualifications reverted to the title of ‘Mr’ and as more women entered an originally male field Ms, Miss or Mrs became cumbersome and may simply remain ‘Dr’. Dental surgeons have also abandoned the traditional ’Mr’ for surgeon and consider ‘Dr’ more prestigious. And many other healthcare professionals, especially those holding a Ph.D. have added to the confusion. Plus the terms ‘junior’ or (recently in the UK) ‘resident’ doctor belies the years of experience an individual may have. G.P.s may originally have qualified in another specialty rather than being ‘just a G.P.’ So, too, Accident and Emergency / E.M. specialists (a relatively recent and welcome specialism out of previous ad hoc confusion. However most EM specialists and especially women will use the title ‘Dr’. To quote one your original comments about Dr. Jayne McLaren, “I’ve heard she’s very capable and might even be a ‘top’ one. Who am I to say?” Her own peers do consider her the best of the best…that’s why she was elected.
And finally, the actual medical practitioners’ union, the BMA, tried to clear the ‘title’ confusion…good luck reading this 😆 https://www.bma.org.uk/media/fx2kzkh1/20250152-doctors-titles-explained-updated-2025.pdf
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