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

Hoping endlessly to find something, anything, the SNP Government has failed to do, the above writer knows and/or cares little for the facts in Scotland. Leaving aside that it’s the local authorities, some Tory/Labour or Lib Dem, who just haven’t asked for the money, there’s one simple reason, they don’t need it because they just don’t have tower blocks prone to go up like Grenfell. Regulars here may wonder how often I’m going the repost the following. I do too but, you neve know where and when it may stick: From BBC Glasgow & West today [25/9/22]: Firefighters have extinguished … Continue reading The Towering Inferno fiasco won’t catch light in Scotland

Jackie Baillie, above, on a one week change in A&E waiting times of only 0.2%. Only Scotland does the one week returns so to compare her party’s performance in Wales, we need to use the monthly data. In May 2023 (the latest data), NHS Wales saw 62% of 70 310 patients within 4 hours. In May 2023, NHS Scotland saw 70.8% of 138 467 within 4 hours. So, in simple percentage terms, NHS Scotland did better but also with 1.7 times the population saw almost twice as many patients. Off course we do have more nurses and doctors per head … Continue reading Scotland’s A&E much more efficient as Labour-run NHS Wales ‘puts lives at risk’

Jackie Baillie works with the Express and BBC Scotland to confuse on A&E. Here’s how BBC Scotland opens this story on weekly A&E changes: The number of people seen at Scotland’s emergency departments within four hours has continued to stagnate, dropping slightly in the past week. Figures released for the week up to July 2 show 68.8% of people who went to A&E were seen and admitted or discharged within the four-hour target. The figure dropped slightly from the previous week, when it was 69%. Remember ‘the number’ not ‘the percentage’ stagnates? The Express has come up with ‘almost a million’ … Continue reading Scotland’s A&E sees 21 000 or 27% more in 4 hours, still improves speed and BBC Scotland fail maths

Here’s how Policy Mogul introduces, today, the latest ONS labour market statistics for Scotland, for March to May 2023: Commenting on the latest publication of ONS labour market statistics which show Scotland’s unemployment rate for March to May 2023 remained low at 3.2 per cent, Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray said: “The continued near-record low unemployment rates for those aged 16 and over across Scotland are welcome and reflects the resilience of the labour market amid the challenging economic outlook and ongoing cost of living crisis. This is compounded by continuing high inflation and rising interest rates. However, the Scottish … Continue reading “Continued near-record low unemployment rates for those aged 16 and over across Scotland”

The Herald prefers to say CalMac ‘has been forced to bring in a relief vessel’ as if a 34 ferry service with more than 500 sailings a day to more than 30 locations, including some very small islands that in Canada or Greece, would not have a subsidised service at all, is somehow failing, as it manages more than 90% on time for four days and 99% and 98% in the last two. The relief vessel has been brought in for the Barra to Eriskay crossing. Just how much is it costing, in the first place, to subsidise a regular … Continue reading CalMac has a relief ferry ready to replace the Eriskay ferry and keep reliability close to 100%

BBC Scotland is surprisingly restrained in the above reporting with no direct connection made to Grenfell. There are however, two ‘hot’ wee links in the report, to other stories about it. Regulars will know this already but I repeat it in the public interest: From BBC Glasgow & West today [25/9/22]: Firefighters have extinguished a blaze which broke out at a tower block in the south side of Glasgow. Emergency services were alerted to the incident in Shawhill Road, Shawlands, at about 21:00 on Saturday. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service dispatched eight fire engines. Large plumes of smoke were … Continue reading Why there will still be no Grenfell here

Reporting Scotland headlines today with: The union representing firefighters is warning (note not ‘claimed’ as Scot Gov tends to get) proposed cost cutting measures will affect the safety of the public and its members….we can’t have anything other than a reduction in the safety of the public. Now, I fully understand why a trade union will fight tooth and nail for its members interests but a media outlet has a duty to inform its audience. Back in the 70s, a trade union ‘claim’ would be challenged rigorously, sometimes unfairly, but these days of the SNP in government, any trade union … Continue reading Scotland sees a huge reduction in serious fires and deaths but still retains more firefighters than England

Reporting Scotland is off and running first thing today with your daily dose of anxiety. ‘Scotland is facing a housing emergency!’ It’s about the supply of affordable housing but as always there’s no context. I’m not saying it’s ever good enough in Scotland and I can remember when my family waited 7 years in a tenement flat, above a pub, with a stinking close and an outside toilet, before we got a decent council house, in the 1960s, after decades of Labour looking after (doing little) for Scotland. Here’s some context: From the impartial Grampian Online in January 2023: Scotland has continued … Continue reading New affordable housing: SNP Scotland 74% better than Labour Wales