Commentators have been keen to find lessons for Rutherglen and Hamilton West in the recent three by-election results in very different parts of England. Labour’s surprise failure to take Uxbridge and the Conservative survival there has been largely attributed to ULEZ. The Herald, staying with the unthinking under-researched majority, had: Tory victory in Uxbridge a ‘warning sign’ for ‘anti-motorist’ SNP The Guardian today has gone deeper: The key divide in this story is between Westminster and local politics. Time and again, Tory activists began the account of their victory with the freedom to choose their candidate. How they got so … Continue reading ‘Let the locals choose’ may be the main ‘lesson from Uxbridge’ and it’s one for Labour in Rutherglen and Hamilton West

From the Ferret today: Women wait longer than men for emergency medical care in Scotland despite the fact they are more likely to be admitted to hospital after being seen in A&E. The Ferret analysed data on monthly waiting time rates for women and men in 27 of 30 emergency departments in Scotland, obtained from Public Health Scotland through a freedom of information request. Our research found that women waited twelve minutes longer than men in April 2023, with 60.5 per cent of women seen within four hours, compared to 64 per cent of men. My own wee ferrety ears … Continue reading Women wait longer in A&E? Ferret ‘fact checker’ finds FA?

From the Times Colonist (!) in British Columbia, Canada, today. When a talented cartoonist gets drawn into a ferry fiasco , you know it’s bad. Meanwhile back in Scotland, CalMac’s most recent data, 31 July 100% on time. Previous week, 100% every day unless you wanted to take the slow boat from Ayrshire to the Mull of Kintyre. Cartoons about CalMac? Nothing from Camley at the Herald since 2019, that I can see. His ‘talent?’ Really? Shit? Am I being unfair? Continue reading Now here’s a Funny Ferry Fiasco!

Stephen Jardine invites you to slag that SNP Government, today, with another evidence-free on-air debate on care homes closing and complaints. First the ‘closings’: One care home closing every week, industry warns but ‘the industry’ reps have no actual figures to offer. The media are pretty much swallowing it whole and regurgitating it, undigested, for their anxious aging audiences. The opposition parties wait in the wings to pepper the regurgitated matter with their own spices. Here are the most recent data for 31 March 2022, published in September 2022: On 31 March 2022, there were 1,051 care homes for adults and … Continue reading Radio Scotland’s ‘Care home closures’ is a media-assisted scare by cash-cow owners to conceal increased availability and increase costs for us

In the ongoing ferry saga, the Herald has this today: Ministers have come under fire as an £800m scheme to create a Clyde shipbuilding revolution and solve Scotland’s ferry crisis with a fleet of 50 catamarans has been sunk. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23694719.anger-800m-clyde-shipbuilding-plan-resolve-ferries-crisis-sinks/ Sunk? Oh, I get it. Clever. Why have ministers not picked up on this offer. I’ve no idea, nor does the Herald. I’m more concerned with that happy assumption of a ‘crisis’. CalMac is operating at 95.4% reliability over the summer season and at almost 100% reliability in recent weeks, with only the Campbelltown link, out. It’s quicker to just … Continue reading Anger as ‘Scottish’ media completely ignore facts on most generous ferry service in world

From Public Health Scotland today: During June 2023, there were 24,435 operations planned to take place across NHSScotland. This represents an increase of 1.3% compared to the 24,125 planned for May 2023 and is 15.8% higher than the number planned a year previously in June 2022 (21,094). Of all planned operations during June 2023, for NHSScotland, 764 (3.1%) were cancelled by the hospital based on clinical reasons, 742 (3.0%) were cancelled by the patient, 615 (2.5%) were cancelled by the hospital due to capacity or non-clinical reasons, and 95 (0.4%) were cancelled due to other reasons. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancelled-planned-operations/cancelled-planned-operations-month-ending-30-june-2023/ Only those procedures … Continue reading Despite surging demand NHS Scotland was ready for 97% of operations

From Public Health Scotland today: The number of people delayed in Scottish hospitals are (sic) showing a downward trend since the peak in November 2022 (1,977). At June 2023 census, 1,738 people were delayed, similar to May 2023 census (1,748).  https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly-figures-for-june-2023#section-2 This trend reflects a wider pattern of improvement in Scotland which has been noticed by experts in England: SCOTLAND has “blazed a trail” in areas of health policy, chief medical officer for England Sir Chris Whitty has said. Whitty, who alongside Scotland’s chief medical officer (CMO) Gregor Smith was knighted for his work during the Covid pandemic, praised the work on health policy north of the Border during a committee hearing at Westminster. … Continue reading Number of people delayed in Scottish hospitals showing a downward trend

I’m at a loss as to the above choice of photograph to go with a story about the NHS. Scottish Labour don’t know their Harris from their Elgin hospital? Is Anas telling the joke about how he dodged the same sex marriage vote? Enough of the laughs. Scottish Labour has a plan? OK, just that one last joke. As you all know, UK Labour has plans (stop, I told you, be serious) and tells the Scottish MP what they are. We know already. Here they are: The last Labour Government reduced waiting times by using the private sector, increasing staff … Continue reading NHS Scotland – Oh, what a tangled web Sarwar weaves when first he practices to deceive

I’ve already quickly posted on the unique percentage fall in the level of rural crime in Scotland, attributed by NFU Mutual, to recent Scottish Government legislation. After a dog walk, well away from sheep, I realised I should look at the absolute level. In Scotland in 2022, it was £1.4m. All things being equal, in England, it might be expected to come in at around £14m or £15m but was in fact, £36.8m, 2 to 3 times higher. Northern Ireland and Wales too, have smaller populations yet 2 to 3 times more rural crime per head of population. Finally, with … Continue reading Under SNP rural crime falls to lowest level by far in UK