Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ From Public Health Scotland, today: During the quarter ending 31 December 2023, 2,221 patients were seen at a consultant-led chronic pain clinic. This compares to 2,005 patients in the previous quarter, an increase of 10.8% and to 1,890 patients seen a year earlier in the quarter ending 31 December 2022, an increase of 17.5%. Of those seen at a consultant-led clinic, 1,124 (50.6%) had waited 12 weeks or less to be seen, which is … Continue reading 17.5% more chronic pain patients seen as number returns to pre-pandemic level

Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ For the umpteenth time, I’m neither a psephologist like Sir Prof Curtice nor even hard-core statistician but, I know a wee bit. So, while the variation from one poll to the next is of limited value, looking at trends based on, for example, the average in blocks of five or so, may be taken to reasonably suggest a trend. The average Labour over Con lead in the last 5 polls is 17 points. In … Continue reading Starmer is in trouble

Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ In The Connexion yesterday: Workers in ports across France start a strike today (March 11) that may last until the end of the week, impacting more than a dozen major entry and exit points.  An inter-union call for a strike over job precarity, high turnover, and increased workload in the profession was filed by the CGT, CFDT, and UNSA unions. Ports affected include: Dunkirk, Le Havre, Rouen, Caen, Lorient, Bastia, Nice, Port la Nouvelle, … Continue reading Massive disruption to ferries by strikes is ‘rien’ to do with French government

Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ Based on a Freedom of Information request by Scottish Labour we see in the Scotsman and elsewhere today this utterly stupid headline: Scots die as patients wait days in A&E. They have found that 7 300 had to wait more than a day in A&E and estimate on that basis, 2 000 avoidable deaths. Why is that stupid? The triage system, where nurses quickly identify which patients are at risk of losing their lives … Continue reading Facts – Contrary to Scottish Labour lies, far fewer Scots die in A&E than would under them