Being shared by Lisa Summers but uncredited, this is typically selective and often hopelessly out-of-date in an effort to construct this ‘crisis’ for us. It opens: Scotland’s Health Secretary Humza Yousaf says the NHS is facing the “biggest crisis” of its existence. There’s a shortage of beds, the demand for ambulances is soaring and waits in accident and emergency departments are getting longer. On top of that, Covid-19 admissions have been rising fast as the number of infections in Scotland spiralled at the end of the summer. Here are five charts illustrating the enormous pressures currently being felt by NHS … Continue reading BBC Scotland’s ‘biggest scare’ in five charts

The above quote comes from Jo Healey, author of “Trauma Reporting: A Journalist’s Guide to Covering Sensitive Stories” (Routledge)  Do your job, do it well, do no harm  These BBC Scotland reports do harm. Rather than foregrounding the professional evidence of what happened and in particular the lack of certainty in cases where several factors were contributory to a death or to harm, BBC Scotland has foregrounded, headlined, the traumatised outbursts of a statistically tiny group of parents, understandably broken by the experience but not, in any way, reliable opinion for any news report. One says: She said she believed NHS Greater … Continue reading BBC Scotland: ‘Do your job, do it well, do no harm’

From a sample of 99 responses to a twitter poll running all day today, only 2 indicated that they had seen an Army ambulance. It’s not clear from any official announcement, just how many ambulances will be deployed with the roughly 100 soldiers. In February 2021, in a similar poll, with 557 respondents, we found that only 0.5% had been vaccinated by a soldier. There are reasonable grounds, it seems, for describing these ‘bring in the Army’ initiatives as more propaganda than anything else. Continue reading Only 2% witness Army ambulances

Absence due to Covid outbreaks in schools is now only 2.9% of possible attendances. Absence due to eternal factors such as exclusion, ‘plugging’ or ‘dogging’ and going to Spain with your parents, remain at a steady 8%. The opposition parties have yet to blame the SNP for this. Continue reading School absence due to Covid falls for 13th week in a row to 2.9%

The absence rate among NHS Scotland nurses and midwives has fallen again in week-ending 21st September to just over half that at the most recent peak in January 2021. Absence among care home staff has fallen sharply, to 857 in week-ending 14th September after peaking at 992 in the previous week. I’m not questioning how busy all are, just how much of a crisis we’re in. Could it be, ever so slightly, media constructed? Continue reading Nurse absences due to Covid fall for second week to half that in January

Mooboo in St Enoch Shopping Centre, run by J Ren, a franchise owned by self-described ‘British Tamil and Conservative party active member’ Adrian Chan, failed to pay 24 staff the minimum wage: https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-employers-named-shamed-paying-24687776 Mooboo Bubble Tea was condemned in 2017 for expecting workers to do unpaid work before being considered for a job: https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/15114156.mooboo-bubble-tea-faces-outrage-after-asking-workers-to-do-unpaid-work-before-being-considered-for-job/ What is it, we don’t wonder, that attracts this kind of businessman to the Conservative Party’s values? Continue reading Conservative Party activist’s Glasgow franchise denies 24 workers minimum wage

After a surge in cases due in part to increased testing in schools, the Covid-19 infection level in Scotland has plummeted over the last week. Wales now has the highest level and England looks like surging again in the wake of their decision to give up on PCR testing for arrivals in the country. BBC Scotland has not noticed this and BBC Wales has no agenda to damage the reputation of their Labour government. Continue reading Scottish infection level falling fast to become lowest in UK again

By Alasdair Galloway The second part of McDougall’s misrepresentation concerns whether in this interview on Radio 4, Joh Swinney admits confirming that Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for a decade of Sterlingisation (using the Pound without a central bank and control of the currency) meant that Scotland wouldn’t be able to use quantitative easing (the creation of money by our central bank, the Bank of England) – ie the proposal by Andrew Wilson’s Growth Commission report which was hardly enthusiastically received by all sections of the independence movement, and which Wilson himself has admitted is now largely moot owing to the passage … Continue reading More McDougall

By Alasdair Galloway In a blog (https://notesonnationalism.substack.com/p/five-things-we-learned-during-snp?r=7wlex) Blair McDougall writes of five things he claims have been learned from the recent SNP conference, and the First Minister’s speech in particular. This is, of course, the usual negativistic, one-eyed stuff that we would expect from the former head of Better Together. But what is interesting about it is its structure and how this can be used to systematically mislead. The most relevant parts are part 1 and part 5. Rather illogically we will have to start in part 5, where McDougall, as many in the Unionist camp have done, systematically misrepresents … Continue reading Blair McDougall – a lesson in how to mislead.

According to BBC Scotland: The Ministry of Defence said it was providing 114 personnel, including drivers and support staff, to carry out non-emergency driving work. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-58641946 The number of Army ambulances being provided is unspecified. According to the Scottish Ambulance service they have: around 1 500 vehicles and over 5000 staff and 1200 volunteers. https://www.scottishambulance.com/ So, the Army will be increasing the ambulance service staffing by 1.8%. Colonial Governor Alister Jack thinks this make the Union worthwhile, imagining imperial ambulances crossing the Tweed to help. Wouldn’t an independent Scotland have an army and a few army ambulances? Continue reading Two or three UK Army ambulances expected to cross the Tweed later today to add only 1.8% in ‘crisis’