Despite Covid hospitalisations stubbornly around 600, infections caught in hospital wards have been falling since a peak at the end of September. BBC Scotland, for some reason, seems to consider this news to be not in the public interest anymore. In November 2020, BBC Scotland Correspondent for Health, Lisa Summers, tweeted excitedly: Public Health England avoid any reporting of comparable figures. TuS was able, however, on 12 November 2022, to report: A very powerful indicator of the effectiveness of a hospital, of a health board and, of course, of a health secretary, is the extent to which patients are protected from … Continue reading Scotland’s super-hygienic hospitals holding Covid at bay

From BBC Health but, note, not BBC England: Anne Whitfield-Ray said that despite her experience she cannot fault NHS staff: “They are doing the best they can.” Lying on a trolley in a hospital corridor in pain from a broken hip, Anne Whitfield-Ray could not believe she was in the care of the NHS. “It was absolute chaos – like something out of a third world country,” said the 77-year-old from Worcestershire. “The staff were rushed off their feet, paint was peeling off the walls and patients were being squeezed in everywhere they could – in makeshift bays, in corridors … Continue reading ‘A&E is absolute chaos – I spent 15 hours on a trolley’ but Health Secretary for England not accused of anything

From BBC Health this morning, we see that in October, 150 000 patients, more than 10%, waited 12 hours or more in NHS England A&E departments. The figure is Scotland was 6,814 (5.4%). Chris Hopson, the chief strategy officer for NHS England was interviewed. The Health Secretary for England was not. The UK opposition parties did not accuse him of anything. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/ae-activity-and-waiting-times/ae-activity-and-waiting-times-month-ending-31-october-2022/ Continue reading Long emergency waits only half as common in Scottish hospitals

This latest poll with Yes ahead 12%, follows and exceeds the previous Ipsos MORI poll on 19 October, with Yes ahead by 7%, Channel 4 on 23 November with Yes ahead 18% and the Redfield and Wilton poll on 27 November with Yes ahead by 4%. SNP support surges to 50%, a figure to wipe out the opposition except in a few pockets where Tory and Labour voters combine in an unholy alliance and, perhaps in the Northern Isles, though even there too the walls are crumbling. Support for the next Westminster election as a de facto referendum is even … Continue reading Four in row for Yes and SNP to wipe-out the others at Westminster

BBC Scotland today is headlining: Scotland loses UK climate change lead, advisers warn The extended report is based on the achievement of targets and a report indicating that many of these, recognised as more ambitious than those in the rest of the UK, have not been met. By sharp contrast, in recent reports on A&E targets, BBC Scotland’s are full of falling line graphs as NHS Scotland struggles with the challenges it faces. When they come to report today on climate change, for some reason graphs like this do not appear at all in the report: Nor of course is … Continue reading BBC Scotland: Only some plummeting graphs are good it seems

From Public Health Scotland today: Of all cancelled planned operations during October 2022, for NHSScotland (excl. NHS Lothian) 585 (3.1%) were cancelled by the hospital based on clinical reasons, 485 (2.6%) were cancelled by the hospital due to capacity or non-clinical reasons, 551 (2.9%) were cancelled by the patient, and 50 (0.3%) were cancelled due to other reasons. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancelled-planned-operations/cancelled-planned-operations-month-ending-31-october-2022/ That only 2.6% of operations were cancelled due to a lack of staff or facilities is a phenomenally low figure for any institution of this size and complexity. Continue reading NHS Scotland ready to do 97.4% of operations on time

Lisa Summers, Reporting Scotland Down’s Unhealthy Correspondent, is reporting today: Why we should worry about what is happening in A&E https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63859908 In more than 1,000 words, you’ll find none of the context which 1st Year Journalism students are taught is essential. Here’s some: From Public Health Scotland, today: During October 2022, 67.6% of attendances at A&E services were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours. In October 2022, NHS England A&E departments saw only 54.8% of those attending within 4 hours. Barking, Havering And Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust saw only 33.6% within 4 hours. NHS Wales data is … Continue reading Scotland’s emergency services up to 50% better and better than all other parts of UK

The above graphic is everywhere in social media but, for the life of me (!), I can’t locate the actual source document. ‘Leading the Way’ is a National Grid project, so it looks genuine. The picture is clear. Scotland is supporting the rest of the UK, massively, when it comes to electricity consumption. Just how massively? From TuS reader Golfnut, in August 2022, this: UK gov figures show exports of electricity as being 16 TWH, which just happens to be the same figure for Scotland. Statista has it as: In 2021, electricity exports from the United Kingdom amounted to 4.17 terawatt-hours, … Continue reading Rumpuk does not need nuclear power, it needs Scotland

Senior police officers say there’s no one reason for a spike in deaths on the the A9 this year. Headlining on BBC Scotland broadcasts, above, and on the website: The story will no doubt headline on Radio Scotland’s Good Mourning Scotland and Drivetime shows, with dramatic accusations from the opposition parties. The website report does have the crucial context: but the report misses something entirely – the pandemic. The very low level from 2019/20 to 2020/21 is explainable – people were driving far less and tourism in that area was massively reduced. So, if the 2018 level (5), in a … Continue reading 10 years of reducing A9 deaths due to SNP A9 improvements including speed cameras

Matt Hancock’s metaphors are murder but I suppose a diet of wallaby willies may have infected his brain. The facts, clearly not of interest to most former Tory ministers tell no lies. The situation in Scotland compared to that in England, just as Hancock was moved on from Health Secretary, in late 2021: The lowest infection rate in the UK, over the whole pandemic, by some way. The lowest current infection rate by an even bigger gap as the new variant arrives. The highest vaccination rate for all three vaccines but especially the booster jag. The second lowest death rate, … Continue reading Matt Hancock Fact Check: Sturgeon’s Covid plan saved many thousands