The Guardian is headlining this claim today: NHS dental services are not fit for purpose and need urgent reform, according to MPs who have warned that people are resorting to DIY treatment using pliers. Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “Our helpline takes many calls from patients who can’t find an NHS dentist, live in so-called dental deserts where there simply aren’t any NHS dentists, or are bewildered by the charging system. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/14/mps-demand-urgent-reform-nhs-dental-services-report BBC UK is headlining this story too but BBC Scotland seems less interested. Could this be why? 95.4% of the Scottish population were … Continue reading BBC Scotland calls for self-dentists who can still whistle-blow to come forward

The case for the BBC TV licence in Scotland is diminishing fast. BBC Scotland’s own audit has found further signs of decay. Two days ago the National reported: Fewer than one in seven have watched the regional channel this year, and the average time spent watching is just one hour and 24 minutes per week. In 2020, BBC Scotland reached more than one in five Scots, and so, between 2020 and 2022, the audience has fallen by 38%. The numbers are according to the broadcaster’s annual report for the year ending March 31, 2023. The channel’s news programme The Nine … Continue reading How can we find out the viewing figures for Reporting Scotland, Good Morning Scotland and Drivetime?

By stewartb NHS England has just published (13 July) the latest waiting time performance figures for its A&E departments.  You may not get to know much about this – even if you live in England and keep a close eye on news of your public services. But perhaps there is nothing about the latest figures that is newsworthy? BBC coverage The BBC News website – tucked away in its Health section but nowhere to be seen (yet?) in its main UK, its main England and not (of course!) its Politics sections – has an article entitled ‘NHS waiting lists hit … Continue reading Reporting NHS Scotland – is ‘whataboutery’ the only (inadequate) defence against BBC bias?

From headline story this morning to 46th in the list on the BBC Scotland website, within only 8 hours, the ‘Union concern‘ story has clearly done its bit in matching the junior doctor strikes in BBC England. However, nowhere in the media reporting would you see this important piece of evidence, of the Scottish Government’s efforts, from April 2023. On top of free tuition, in Scotland only: The Bursary The bursary is for the normal duration of the course that you are undertaking. If you are taking the four-year honours nursing degree course and you are eligible for a bursary, … Continue reading £10 000 bursaries for all nursing students in Scotland – a story you rarely hear

From reader Dorothy Breckenridge: From the Guardian this morning, live feed 08.34: BMA leaders Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: Today marks the start of the longest single walkout by doctors in the NHS’s history, but this is still not a record that needs to go into the history books. We can call this strike off today if the UK Government will simply follow the example of the government in Scotland and drop their nonsensical precondition of not talking whilst strikes are announced and produce an offer which is credible to the doctors they are speaking with. The … Continue reading Where’s Dr Iain Kennedy BMA Chair Scotland as BMA chief compares UK and Scottish government handling of doctors talks?

In the Herald today, Scott Wright, Deputy Business Editor, uses his recent trip to Croatia to do an up-to-date piece comparing his experience with the drivel most of Scotland’s media have been serving up in the ferry galley. After thirty seconds thinking he should research the topic, he goes for a quick ‘what we did on our holidays‘ piece: That’ll do eh? I’ve got half an hour to spare. Let’s see if can get something a bit more substantial for that headline the boss wants to run? Croatian ferries are privately-run, by numerous companies of all sizes and none are … Continue reading ‘What can Scotland’s troubled ferry service learn from Croatia?’ Not so much it seems when you do a bit of research

As junior doctors in England begin their longest ever strike and BBC UK ‘stupidly’ mention the Humza Yousaf deal with Scottish junior doctors, the Reporting Scotland team present the counter-story they’ve been working on feverishly since Humza intervened. They found this: Well, I say ‘found’, they contacted the health unions and the RCN fed them this one: Applications to join nursing programmes in Scotland have slumped in the past year, according to new figures. UCAS data has shown a drop of 19% in applications in the 12 months up to 30 June. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called … Continue reading Junior doctor strike NOT in Scotland! ‘Quick get something, anything, bad on NHS Scotland!’

Social media is alive with comparison of the BBC protection of its presenter, the MSM collusion with that, and the quick media exposure of the arrests of the First Minister and her husband. Remember, Police Scotland did not publish the the names of those arrested, referring only to their age and gender. It was the Scottish media including the BBC which instantly revealed that it was the First Minister’s husband and then her. A similar thing is now not happening in England as the BBC and all of the MSM conceal the name of the ‘accused.’ I agree they should … Continue reading SEX!!! The SNP Minister and the BBC Presenter

Opposition hypocrisy over A&E performance – enabled by BBC Scotland and the Daily Express By stewartb It’s over for another week!  Tuesday in Scotland is such a special day! It’s the time when political hypocrisy flourishes, enabled and sustained by context- and perspective-free ‘journalism’. It’s the day in Scotland when the BBC and others in the mainstream media amplify cries of ‘shame’, ’crisis’ or similar from Tory, Lib Dem and Labour politicians It’s the day when there are demands for the head of a Scottish Government minister. Why are Tuesdays so special: it’s the day when NHS Scotland releases the … Continue reading The pandemic was years too late to drag NHS England’s A&E performance down – The Tories did it all by themselves