Well, they politicise baby deaths, drug deaths and police call-out failures so it’s perhaps no surprise that we see this on BBC Scotland: Fire cuts delayed Ayr hotel blaze response, says union Note, it’s not, as it should be: Fire cuts ‘delayed Ayr hotel blaze response’, claims union or: The deployment of the high-reach appliance did not impact the outcome of this incident, which took place in a derelict building with no life risk. which you have to read on a bit for. Missing, of course, this to give viewers and readers some meaningful context and to let them put … Continue reading 13% more firefighters than England shouting ‘theatre’ in an empty building in Ayr

From Public Health Scotland today: The Scottish Government set a Standard that 90% of people referred for help with problematic drug or alcohol use will wait no longer than three weeks for specialist treatment that supports their recovery. Nationally, the Standard was met for referrals to community-based services across all substances: co-dependency (95%), problematic use of drugs (94%), and alcohol (92%). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times-1-april-2023-to-30-june-2023/ The target has been surpassed since records began in June 2021. Would you know that from ‘our’ media reports? Continue reading Drug treatment in Scotland – target smashed for 8th time in a row as 94% of drug abusers wait three weeks or less for treatment

Today in the Guardian: Overlooked lung conditions could create ‘deluge of hospital admissions this winter’ in England, with GPs unable to offer basic lung function testing, report finds https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/26/thousands-with-breathing-problems-going-undiagnosed-due-to-lack-of-tests When I read this, I was reminded of this in September 2019: In Nursing Standard yesterday this horrific news: Asthma patients are putting their lives at risk by skipping medication due to the cost, nurses have reported. The trend, revealed in an Asthma UK survey of 636 nurses in England, has prompted the RCN to call for prescription costs for asthma medication to be scrapped, as they have been for diabetes medication. In the survey, 58% … Continue reading England’s breathing problems persist long after Covid pandemic

In the above, endorsed by Con MSPs Annie Wells and Sandesh Gulhane, there is the claim that: Many hundreds are having to travel hundreds of miles for life-saving procedures in England as sit on lengthy waiting lists North of the Border. Here are some facts about cancer care in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK: The differences are greater now. The BBC have been careful to include NHS England’s improvement in March 2023, to 64% starting treatment within the target 64 days, from only 54.4% in December 2022, but have then compared that with the NHS Scotland figure … Continue reading Wells and Gulhane’s ‘shocking’ hypocritical lies about 30% faster cancer treatment in Scotland

In the last days of Labour, in 2009, Gordon Brown promised Scotland a connection to HS2. By 2023, the Guardian seems to think: It was originally envisaged as a Y-shaped network which would go from London Euston to Birmingham, with two spurs to Manchester and Leeds. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/24/how-much-has-been-spent-on-hs2-so-far-and-what-is-at-stake Three days ago: Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he is not guilty of the “great rail betrayal” that Labour has accused the Government of by not committing to building HS2 in full. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said the costs of the high-speed rail project to the North are “getting totally out of control” as Rishi Sunak refuses to guarantee it will reach Manchester. … Continue reading Once upon a time Labour promised Rutherglen and Hamilton folk a train trip to London in just over 2 hours but Starmer has shoved that right up the junction

Network Rail is a UK-wide public sector company responsible to the UK Government, via the Office for Rail and Road, for the safety of the rail infrastructure across the UK. Rail infrastructure, as with ports and airports, is reserved to the UK Government as a matter of national security. How we’re funded Network rail is largely funded by a direct grant from the UK Government. In 2020/2021, the grant was £17.6 billion. By 2022/2023, despite the Stonehaven deaths due to a maintenance failure, it had been slashed to £11 billion. https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/rail_subsidies_to_cost_taxpayers_1_300_each_by_march_2023#:~:text=Estimated%20total%20rail%20subsidy%20for,%2D19%20and%202019%2D20) The Scottish Government makes a small contribution to the … Continue reading In the wake of the Stonehaven rail deaths UK Government slashed maintenance budget by nearly 40% but Herald looks elsewhere for blame

BBC Scotland is making much of a one-year fluctuation in road death figures which is not statistically significant and which does not contradict the clear evidence of a longer term steady and dramatic falling trend. They claim: Campaigners have expressed fears over the impact of cuts to road traffic officer numbers in the last decade. Figures obtained by BBC Scotland News reveal there were 548 officers in June – 14% less than in March 2014. The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and road safety charity Brake said a visible presence offered a strong deterrent against offending. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66917013 Note, from the … Continue reading Road deaths remain at roughly half that under Labour