Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Has any part of the NHS in the UK been able to match delivery capacity with increasing demand for health services?

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By stewartb Workforce statistics need very careful analysis based on trusted, objective assessment which gives readers ‘perspective’. No longer confident in the BMAs credentials in this regard and certainly not in the The Herald’s reporting on NHS Scotland. NHS Scotland’s total workforce in Q4 2023 was 160,567 (whole time equivalents), up 18.9% over the past ten years and up 14.1% in the past five years alone. The Q4 2023 the workforce included: In Q4 2019 the workforce included: Source: https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/data-and-reports/official-workforce-statistics/all-official-statistics-publications/?pageid=1302 Looking further back in time, using this source: ‘NHS National Services Scotland (28 June 2011 ) NHS Scotland Workforce – Data … Continue reading Has any part of the NHS in the UK been able to match delivery capacity with increasing demand for health services?

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School suspensions 4 times more, and full expulsions shocking 600 times more, common in England’s not so fair and pleasant land

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Many thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this via the Guardian: Pupil suspensions in England hit record high, rising by nearly a third year on year, DfE figures show From the Scotsman, no friend of the SNP Government, on 25 March 2024: Across Scotland, there were 11,675 cases of temporary exclusion of any length of time, with just one pupil being expelled, as previously revealed by The Scotsman. The figures compare to 39,553 temporary exclusions and 164 permanent in 2007, when the SNP came to power. So, with 10 times the population, all things being equally progressive and hopefully not … Continue reading School suspensions 4 times more, and full expulsions shocking 600 times more, common in England’s not so fair and pleasant land

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The latest scandal ….yep another one….of a Tory MP… reads almost like a Crime novel

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By NMRN The latest scandal ….yep another one….of a Tory MP…involves a surreal situation which reads almost like a Crime novel….involves a Tory MP, Mark Menzies (never heard of him) who is the MP for Flyde in Lancashire, where apparently he called an elderly party volunteer saying he was locked in a flat and needed £5,000 as a matter of “life and death”……An eventual sum of £6,500 was paid to secure his release. The money is reported to have come out of local Conservative party funds and the party is carrying out an an investigation……I assume the Police are also carrying out an investigation and if not … Continue reading The latest scandal ….yep another one….of a Tory MP… reads almost like a Crime novel

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Something else BBC Scotland fed by the Scotsman were trying to hide from you today

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By Professor John Robertson On the Scotsman’s front page and repeatedly on BBC Scotland broadcasts, the story that the Scottish Government ‘plans‘ to ‘scrap’, ‘ditch’ and ‘drop’ one climate change target is presented as humiliation and embarrassment. Way down the page, we read something very important: Green MSP Ross Greer said it was “a difficult day for the planet and Scotland”. He also argued that the Scottish Government’s targets had been made on the assumption of a cooperative UK Government. Mr Greer told BBC Scotland news that previous governments had not taken enough climate action and his party had “massively … Continue reading Something else BBC Scotland fed by the Scotsman were trying to hide from you today

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What BBC Scotland and the BMA Scotland were hiding from you this morning

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BMA Scotland, headed up by Dr Iain Kennedy, who has now shed the union flag on his twitter account, have a piece on consultant vacancies all over the media from 06:30 this morning on BBC Scotland. They’ll have had this one oven-ready for some time now. Why today? From the real BMA in London today: The BMA England GP committee has warned health service officials that the profession is ‘now in dispute’ with NHS England following the overwhelming vote to reject the 2024/25 contract. Is the profession in dispute with NHS Scotland? The silence talks. Continue reading What BBC Scotland and the BMA Scotland were hiding from you this morning

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Scotland’s ferries policy manifestly functional says this expert

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In the Herald today: Scotland’s ferry policy is “manifestly dysfunctional” and must be overhauled, an expert has said. In a submission to a Transport Scotland consultation on its Island Connectivity plan, Roy Pedersen criticised the current process of “the state procuring large, inefficient ships! which he says “will increase the already high financial cost to the Scottish taxpayer”.  Pederson’s report is 36 pages long but judging by the above claims, he has missed any international comparisons of the kind any rigorous research would require. Academics call it a ‘review of literature’ without which no research will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. If … Continue reading Scotland’s ferries policy manifestly functional says this expert

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Police Scotland trusted by public up to 53% more than forces in England

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By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today: Only four out of 10 people in England say they trust the police, with the UK’s biggest force, the Metropolitan police, getting the lowest confidence score, research has found. The poll surveyed nine English regions, in eight of which female respondents had greater trust in the police than male respondents. But for the Met in London, hit by a succession of scandals, women trusted Britain’s largest force less than men. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/18/only-40-of-people-in-england-trust-their-police-force-research-reveals From the Common Weal in October 2023: A report by the Scottish Policing Authority has found that in this last quarter trust and … Continue reading Police Scotland trusted by public up to 53% more than forces in England

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Islanders have photos of empty shelves caused by ferry fiasco but only on the Channel Islands

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From BBC Jersey, today: Shop shelves in Jersey have been empty of fresh produce since Monday due to cancelled freight ferries. Condor Ferries’ conventional sailings were cancelled on Monday and Tuesday “due to operational reasons”, the company said. The boats carry freight and fresh food, as well as passengers, to the Channel Islands. Condor Ferries has been contacted for comment. That’s all. Nobody blames the Channel Islands or UK governments for a failure to invest in new ferries. No islander says – ‘Right! That’s it! I’m off.‘ They have the proof of empty shelves, above. I seem to remember similar … Continue reading Islanders have photos of empty shelves caused by ferry fiasco but only on the Channel Islands

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Scotland ‘surpasses UK’ – rare sighting of Herald ‘Scotland is good’ story

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From the Herald’s token good journalist and the only one who could front a rock band credibly, Ian McConnell, today: It does happen. It means they can claim to offer both sides, be fair, balanced. Herbert Marcuse called it ‘repressive tolerance’. See: https://www.marcuse.org/herbert/publications/1960s/1965-repressive-tolerance-fulltext.html Continue reading Scotland ‘surpasses UK’ – rare sighting of Herald ‘Scotland is good’ story