The Times (Scotland) front page with 3 UK stories and 1 about NHS England left hanging to suggest things are wrong in NHS Scotland too. There is no maternity scandal in Scotland. There are several in NHS England: Tragically, many of these issues remain a persistent problem in maternity services across England. Shrewsbury is not alone. Morecambe Bay, East Kent and Nottingham hospitals have all had poor maternity care exposed in recent years. Naturally, this prompts the question of what needs to change if these scandals are to be avoided elsewhere. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/mar/30/baby-deaths-inquiry-reveals-issues-across-englands-maternity-services#:~:text=Baby%20deaths%20inquiry%20points%20to%20issues%20across%20England%27s%20maternity%20services,-This%20article%20is&text=It%20has%20been%20five%20years,families%20and%201%2C592%20clinical%20incidents. No English health secretaries have faced calls to … Continue reading The Times Scotland?

Though a long-serving health correspondent, the Herald’s Helen McArdle makes some basic errors or maybe she’s trying to fool us? First this: RECORD numbers of patients spent more than eight hours in A&E departments in the latest week, in what has been described as a “deadly portent of the coming winter”. Clinicians warned of “very real” harm coming to patients and staff as a result of the deteriorating situation, as separate data published today reveals spiralling mental health-related absences among emergency workers, including ambulance staff and A&E medics. The latest figures on A&E performance shows that a record 3,553 people … Continue reading For one obvious reason ‘Record A&E waits’ are not ‘deadly’

From the Scottish Government today but reported in a different manner by BBC Scotland and opposition parties (above): The number of people waiting two years for a scheduled hospital appointment has significantly reduced, helping ease pressure on the NHS ahead of the winter. This follows intensive work from Health Boards to clear backlogs caused by the pandemic. The national target to clear two year inpatient waits in most specialities by the end of September was set in summer to address the impact of the pandemic on long waiting times for planned care. New figures show that by the end of … Continue reading Significant progress in clearing a third of two year waits evades BBC Scotland

All things being equal, England should have around 40 cases of Covid 19 in ICU but has 221, more than 5 times what might be expected. All things are clearly not equal. Here’s one possible explanation: By July 2021, 100% of Scotland’s care home residents had been fully vaccinated for some time. 97.6% of staff had the first vaccination and 94.4% had the second dose:  https://www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker/ In England, the situation was less reassuring, despite the PM’s claims of a ‘world-beating’ rollout. 98.5% of residents had both jags in English care homes for the elderly but only 78.4% of staff were … Continue reading Covid ICU cases in Scotland plummet to less than a quarter of UK level – why?

Nuff said? Continue reading Gaslighting 2014-style

In a long report, headlining on BBC Breakfast and online: An independent review launched after up to 15 babies died at a hospital trust will be published later. The report into maternity services at East Kent Hospitals, which is expected to be “harrowing”, examined up to 200 cases involving mothers and babies. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-62899900 A politician is mentioned. In the second-last paragraph, only this: Nadine Dorries, the former minister for patient safety, announced in February 2020 that the review at East Kent would be held. No opposition party criticism is allowed. Only the Trust is blamed. BBC Wales also does not politicise health … Continue reading FIFTEEN babies die in one hospital but not one politician is even contacted

On Reporting Scotland Down all day today, a story fed to them and all the MSM, by the Lib Dems – you know Alex Cole-Hamilton and…..whoever. It’s claimed ambulance staff are sacrificing their own health as figures reveal almost 170 000 hours were lost to mental health absences in a year. Data obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats through freedom of information requests revealed the total between July 2021 and June this year. They say workers that were off due to anxiety, stress, depression or other psychiatric illness. The Government says £12 million has been made available to support NHS … Continue reading Real ambulance chasing by the Scottish Lib Dems as staff take between 4 and 5 days off per year

Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office in a Press Release on ‘Delivery of employment support schemes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’, 13 October 2022. By stewartb If this was about a Scottish Government scheme of commensurate or even lesser scale, what would be the political opposition, corporate media and BBC’s response? On 13 October, 2022 the National Audit Office (NAO) published a ‘value for money’ report: ‘Delivery of employment support schemes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’. See https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/delivery-of-employment-support-schemes-in-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/ NAO reports don’t get much if any attention from the BBC, the broadcaster ‘devoted’ to PUBLIC SERVICE, even … Continue reading Why not newsworthy? –  “billions went to people whose incomes increased during the pandemic, and billions more was lost in fraud and error.”

From that throbbing media organ, the Daily Hitler Mail today: Ajax was meant to be the Army’s first new armoured vehicle in a generation, designed to make the military more deadly on the battlefield.  A massive £5.5billion was set aside for the project – but it has been a disaster plagued with glitches, with prototypes damaging the hearing of troops who tested them and making other personnel sick. Now, with £3.2billion of taxpayers’ cash pumped into the scheme – which has failed to put a single one of the promised 589 tanks into service – fresh question marks are swirling … Continue reading Calmac ferry costs and delays in perspective as £5.5billion British Army tank is too heavy, makes crew sick and can’t even fire on the move

The votes yesterday on the SNP Clause 18 to amend the Rees-Mogg-sponsored Energy Prices Bill. Here’s the story: The SNP sought to amend the Energy Prices Bill, which puts in law the support package and was fast-tracked through the Commons, to require ministers to set out to Parliament the full details on the different scenarios from April within 28 days of it receiving royal assent. SNP energy spokesman Alan Brown cited previous comments from Prime Minister Liz Truss as he warned Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg the average household energy bill will rise from an average of GBP2,500 per year to GBP6,000 per … Continue reading Labour betray us all by abstaining on SNP amendment to save lives in cost-of-energy crisis