Against a background of falling road traffic accidents across Scotland, with the steady trend interrupted by a massive dip in the pandemic, the Herald, typically arithmetically-challenged, has today: Some facts: These are data for the whole of the giant Highland Council and do not indicate any particular A9 dualling problem. There were 24 deaths in 2022 (2023 data not yet complete or confirmed yet), up from the 5-year average of 17 but serious accidents at 87 were down from the 5-year average of 130 and all accidents at 232 were only just over half of the 443 average. The increase … Continue reading Highland roads getting far safer

From Business Examiner yesterday: VICTORIA – BC Ferries‘ net earnings for the three months ended September 30, 2023, were $102.1 million, an increase of $21.7 million over the same quarter the previous year. For the six months ended September 30, 2023, net earnings were $117.3 million compared to net earnings of $88.3 million in the prior year. Revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2023, at $381.5 million, was up $38.4 million or 11 per cent over the same period in the prior year primarily as a result of an increase in vehicle and passenger traffic levels, tariff rates, fuel surcharges and retail revenue. … Continue reading Troubled unreliable state-subsidised ferry operator still making millions for shareholders

By Jim Stamper The real reason for the intended Grangemouth refinery closure is the same as the reason for the huge increase in energy costs in the UK leading to very high inflation and the subsequent reduced value of wages and increased poverty.  That reason is the privatisation of our oil and gas resources and industries by UK Governments.  The private oil and gas companies have no obligation to provide oil and gas to the UK.  So even although we have these resources in our territorial waters we had to compete for oil and gas supplies on the world market … Continue reading The real reason for the intended Grangemouth refinery closure

By Leah Gunn Barrett Scots are sick and tired of BBC Scotland’s heavily biased reporting against the Scottish government and Scotland. The latest example is the wall to wall coverage, which has gone on for two weeks, of health secretary Michael Matheson’s iPad roaming bill, which he has paid. But the negative stories keep flooding in. The BBC Scotland website has posted 8 reports of which 6 are still prominently displayed on their propaganda website, despite Matheson doing the right thing – owning up and paying the bill.[1] Here’s some real criminality. In 2020, Baroness Michelle Mone funnelled £203m via … Continue reading Here’s some real criminality

By stewartb The waiting times performance figures for major emergency departments in NHS Wales during the month of October 2023 have been released. We’re now in a position to make comparison with similar performance metrics in Scotland and England. Summary table  – October 2023 Metric NHS England NHS Scotland (‘main sites’) NHS Wales (‘major’ departments) % attendances meeting 4-hour standard 55.6% (‘Type 1’ departments) 64.2% 58.2% % spending over 8 hours in A&E Not reported 12.7% 23.4% % spending over 12 hours in A&E 10.7% (‘Type 1 and Type 2’ departments 5.4% 14.6% The basis of these tabulated statistics is … Continue reading A&E performance across nations: contrasting the responses of the Labour Party in government and opposition

The 1 000 residents of Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada, are to have no ferry service at all this winter, from 30 November, because the regional government refuses to pay the $60 000 per month cost. The Scottish Island of Greater Cumbrae, population 1 300 will have 52 crossings per day heavily subsidised by the Scottish Government. All 52 were on time yesterday. Campobello Island lies at 44.9 deg N, 10 degrees south of Greater Cumbrae at 55.7 deg N. Source: Continue reading A tale of two similar islands – one gets no winter ferry service at all and the other gets 52 crossings per day

Today, the Guardian has: Sepsis, or blood poisoning, is a potentially fatal condition triggered when the body reacts to an infection by attacking its own tissues and vital organs. It leads to an estimated 48,000 deaths a year in Britain. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/23/poor-people-much-more-likely-die-sepsis-study This somewhat dated figure (there is no reliable update) is based on the English data just increased pro rata for the other 3 nations. I can’t find up-to-date accurate Scottish data for a bit of whitabootery but I can find this: While deaths caused by sepsis have fallen by 21% since 2012, thanks in part to the work of … Continue reading Sepsis deaths in Scotland falling fast thanks to world-leading patient safety programme introduced by SNP Government in 2007

After Anas Sarwar’s win last, Dame Jackie Baillie wins an award sponsored by Drax. Drax! Even the name triggers fear. Drax the Destroyer? I don’t know why energy giant Drax is sponsoring the Herald’s Scottish Politician of the Year award but it’s a bad, bad image. See this: A U.K. biomass power plant which received more than £800 million (C$1.36 billion) in government subsidies for renewable energy production last year has been pegged as the country’s largest source of CO2 in the country in a new analysis by the climate think tank, Ember.   The Drax plant, which generates electricity by burning … Continue reading Scottish Labour deputy leader wins award for serial killer analogy and endorses UK’s biggest CO2 emitter and one of most dangerous polluters in Europe

From BBC Wales yesterday: Only 52.9% of cancer patients in September started definitive treatment within 62 days of it being suspected, well below the 75% target. This marked the second worst month since the new target came in. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-67488546 From Public Health Scotland on 26 September: 73.7% of patients started treatment within the 62-day standard, compared with 69.5% in the previous quarter. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-waiting-times/cancer-waiting-times-1-april-to-30-june-2023/ So, NHS Scotland’s performance is 39.3% better and almost hits the Welsh target but that remains at 95% here. Has the Welsh Health Secretary been blamed? Who? The Labour Government in Wales gets away with just blaming … Continue reading NHS Scotland’s cancer treatment performance nearly massive 40% better than in Labour Wales despite their sneaky reduction in target