By Legerwood The new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary [900 beds compared to QEUH at 1 677 beds], one of Labour’s PFI hospitals was budgeted at £150 million to build but ended up costing £180 million to build. The PFI cost will be £1.3 Billion [QEUH £842m] but Lothian Health Board will not own it. As well as the PFI costs the Health Board had to pay an ANNUAL maintenance cost of £60 Million [QEUH £7.8m]. Dwarfs any such costs for QEUH. https://www.scotsman.com/health/ps60m-a-year-contract-thrown-into-doubt-1620362 The SNP eventually managed to get that annual cost reduced. They also managed to buy out the private parking … Continue reading Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, one of Labour’s PFI hospitals, will cost nearly TWICE as much as giant Glasgow hospital to build , is only just over HALF the size and costs EIGHT times as much to maintain annually

Professor John Robertson OBA In a particularly shameful piece of reporting, we see knowingly misleading figures on maintenance and the utterly unfounded association of those with infections linked only by Anas Sarwar and the poor parents he groomed for deeply cynical political reasons. First, that £78 million for 10 years of maintenance is an average of £7.8m per year for a building that cost £842 million to build in the first place. So, annual maintenance costs are less than 1 PERCENT! (0.93%) of that. I’m surprised it’s not more. The link between supposed building failures, infections and deaths – NONE. … Continue reading Complete lies about Glasgow’s ‘super hospital’

Professor John Robertson OBA Today, several US media outlets are report along the same lines as the above from US News: Living near Coldwater Creek in St. Louis, Missouri, during childhood was found to be associated with an increased risk of overall cancer, according to the findings of a study published in JAMA Network Open.  “Our research indicates that the communities around North St. Louis appear to have had excess cancer from exposure to the contaminated Coldwater Creek,” said corresponding author Marc G. Weisskopf, PhD, ScD, Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. … Continue reading The weight of evidence from the US, Europe and Australia now overwhelms the dishonest research into nuclear energy and cancer risks carried out by UK ‘academics’ on behalf of UK Government bodies

From Douglas Fraser of the BBC, two days ago: Unemployment in Scotland is down, while it has risen in the rest of the UK. The monthly figures on the jobs market tell us the share of the adult population in Scotland searching for a job between March and May was down to 3.7%, while it was up to 4.7% across the UK. Now I now that it’s only 1% higher, crudely, but that’s 1% of around 4 000 000 adults in Scotland, 40 000 people. 1 as a percentage of 3.7 is 27%. What’s the stuff about employment figures not … Continue reading After 18 years, unemployment in UK 27% higher than in Scotland

By stewartb The Mull cafe owner who won’t be able to bid for between £3k and £35k of taxpayer-funded business support grant, seems to be questioning the analysis of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in setting eligibility criteria for the Scottish Government’s new £4.4m business support scheme, the Island Resilience Fund. For more on the Island Resilience Fund (30 June 2025): – see https://www.gov.scot/news/island-resilience-fund-opens/ This explains: ‘‘A funding package developed to support island businesses affected by ferry disruption is now ready to accept applications. … Eligible sectors include those that rely on tourism and those that are engaged in the manufacture or movement … Continue reading The Mull cafe owner and the Scottish Government’s Island Resilience Fund criteria

Professor John Robertson OBA From the Scotsman, six days ago, the above and: A protest will be held this weekend on the Isle of Mull over the state of the lifeline ferry service, with Scottish ministers accused of not “listening”. The Mull and Iona Ferry Committee announced it is planning a mass demonstration protesting the state of the ferry service to Mull and Iona. The demonstration will take place on Sunday at Craignure on the Isle of Mull The protest is the initiative of local businesswoman [cafe owner] Michelle Devlin. She said the “final straw” before staging the protest was the Scottish … Continue reading Mull cafe owner’s mass protest turnout threatened by nearly 90% of 2 800 locals being satisfied with their CalMac ferry service and the conveniently under-used car decks

Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Science & Environment today, the above and: Serious pollution incidents by water companies have risen 60% in a year, according to the Environment Agency. In total there were 2,801 pollution incidents in England in 2024, the highest on record, compared with 2,174 in 2023. Of these, 75 were considered to pose “serious or persistent” harm to fisheries, drinking water and human health – up from 47 last year. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg5zl75dmm0o ‘Serious’ incidents such as these in Scotland are apparent from the imposition of fines on Scottish Water or other users, by the regulator Sepa. In … Continue reading English water boards typically release harmful pollution between 47 (4.7 pro rata) and 76 (7.6 pro rata) times as frequently as Scottish Water