Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Why is Scotland able to train almost TWICE as many nurses as England?

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS The Scotsman today is front-paging Alarm over fresh drop in applicants for nurses course based on a 2% reduction in applications, from 4 650 to 4 560, six months before ‘clearing’ processes in the week and months before course start, can fill the missing places. The ‘alarm’ is from a union rep and, evidence-free, the fall in applications is explained by poor working conditions, which in turn, is based upon a small sample, self-selecting (squeaky wheel) survey. Not mentioned, of course, is how this level of nurse training compares with other parts … Continue reading Why is Scotland able to train almost TWICE as many nurses as England?

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The power of early-morning nightmares – Reporting Scotland create a fictional world of dangerous prisoners released early

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS IMPORTANT – If you know someone frightened by the broadcast above or by the same story in their newspaper, tell them the facts below to reassure them! BBC Reporting Scotland‘s insert on early prisoner release in BBC Breakfast at 06:30, with repeated doses throughout the day is classic propaganda designed to keep you and especially your elderly and vulnerable neighbours, fearful of change. There’s a strong correlation between heavy news consumption and anxiety/depression. Some groups, the elderly, the inform, the disabled, are more likely to be worried by reports that seem to … Continue reading The power of early-morning nightmares – Reporting Scotland create a fictional world of dangerous prisoners released early

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Reform pushing steadily into 1st place in UK and 2nd in Scotland as Sarwar’s dream of FM with Reform turn to ashes

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily, finishing in 10 days, to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS Six out of the last seven UK polls for Westminster have had Reform UK ahead of Labour, and only 1 point behind, in the other. The latest from … Continue reading Reform pushing steadily into 1st place in UK and 2nd in Scotland as Sarwar’s dream of FM with Reform turn to ashes

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As Trump moves to end the war in Ukraine what do the people in the East seem likely to want?

johnrobertson834

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS As a pro-independence Scot, I’ve been interested in the breakaway movement in eastern Ukraine, for some time, since well before Putin’s brutal exploitative invasion, just as I have for those in Quebec, … Continue reading As Trump moves to end the war in Ukraine what do the people in the East seem likely to want?

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BBC UK deliberately hiding the awful truth of NHS England A&E waiting times again – only 57% treated within the 4 hour target

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS The above from BBC News is misleading and they’ve done it before. The above figure of 73% is the average for all A&E departments, including those little ‘County’ hospital units which only … Continue reading BBC UK deliberately hiding the awful truth of NHS England A&E waiting times again – only 57% treated within the 4 hour target

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Daily Record’s two ‘brave’ women’s experience does not undermine NHS Scotland’s ‘excellent ovarian cancer services across Scotland’

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Two deeply upsetting reports in the Daily Record today, I know, but you cannot base an evaluation of a service treating almost 500 patients every year, thousands in the last few years, on the experience of two. You can see from the above, latest data, that several waiting time targets are beaten year after year, that 7 out of 11 targets are met and that the others, especially the very important numbers 9 and 10, come close. This enabled an evaluation, based on evidence, of: The QPI results indicate that overall, the quality of ovarian cancer services across Scotland is … Continue reading Daily Record’s two ‘brave’ women’s experience does not undermine NHS Scotland’s ‘excellent ovarian cancer services across Scotland’

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Headlining rape – BBC Scotland focus on one case but the wider picture, including higher conviction rates, they don’t want you to know about that

johnrobertson834

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS In an extended report on a single rape victim and her understandable, important, concerns, there’s the unchecked, unspecified, claim that conviction rates are ‘low’ and no room for any context somehow. Here … Continue reading Headlining rape – BBC Scotland focus on one case but the wider picture, including higher conviction rates, they don’t want you to know about that

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England’s NHS underperformance day, bed-blocking, community care and road accidents set BBC Scotland an impossible task to match the misery – third, road deaths

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS In a typically Anglocentric piece, BBC Breakfast spend some time on speeding and road deaths with no awareness of any differences across the UK’s four nations. BBC Scotland are struggling to compete … Continue reading England’s NHS underperformance day, bed-blocking, community care and road accidents set BBC Scotland an impossible task to match the misery – third, road deaths

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England’s NHS underperformance day, bed-blocking and road deaths set BBC Scotland an impossible task to match the misery – second bed-blocking and community care

johnrobertson834

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS BBC UK today is focusing on what they are calling ‘NHS Performance Day.’ Their tone suggests they already know the figures are going to be bad and they clearly intend to consider … Continue reading England’s NHS underperformance day, bed-blocking and road deaths set BBC Scotland an impossible task to match the misery – second bed-blocking and community care

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England’s NHS underperformance day, bed-blocking, community care and road deaths set BBC Scotland an impossible task to match the misery – first the NHS

johnrobertson834

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS Today, NHS England’s performance data come in and the omens, judging by the media attention, are bad. I’ll do a direct comparison later. For the moment, a reminder of the numerous sets … Continue reading England’s NHS underperformance day, bed-blocking, community care and road deaths set BBC Scotland an impossible task to match the misery – first the NHS