The Glasgow Caledonian University led study found 1% of patients develop hospital associated infections (HAIs). It compares favourably with previous estimates for the UK (7.8%) and recent figures from Europe (3%). https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-57942366.amp?fbclid=IwAR3yKRZdAemFIeBaGGPkrITNP7wyV-_crXdg4qiO7YizFsMq5VSZvi1p4SI A friend has just shared this July report again. At the time I wrote: BBC Scotland wins ‘Cringeprop21’ award as hospital infections fall to lowest in Europe! That headline is a belter, a howler, the cringyest of cringy. Why? Well it looks bad doesn’t it? £46 fn million!!?? Yousaf must go? Bring back Freeman and make her resign before she retires again? The people have a right to … Continue reading Reminder: Hospital infections nearly 8 times as common in non-Scottish parts

Already this morning, I’ve posted a fantastic piece on the Livingston vaccine, prompted by a comment from Clydebuilt and I’ve reposted a stewartb comment on Scotland’s Jäger units. I could have missed them. I will have missed others before. If I wake up to exciting new opportunities to rebut, I just plough-on, devil take the hindmost, and forget to look back for yesterday’s truffles in the comments. Very occasionally readers will remind me of a good comment by themselves or others that I could repost to good effect but mostly they are too modest to do so My ‘system’ is … Continue reading BBC: Talking-up Scotland’s ‘Heath Robertson’ editorial system is failing its readers

Like that Grand Old Duke of York, not the current one with juvenile preferences, BBC Scotland have been force-marching those oh-so-few squaddies with needles or recently-crashed ambulances, up and down on a regular basis to give the impression they’re saving NHS Scotland. Wait, would Sisyphus be a better analogy? Anyhow from stewartb: From an article in the US magazine Wired in 2017 (by Emily Dreyfuss) we learn that: ‘The human brain has a built-in tendency to conflate the aberrant with the norm. The news industry—and certain politicians—know this all too well.’ This seems highly relevant when reviewing this evening’s (19 … Continue reading BBC Scotland conflates the aberrant with the norm for you

I’m grateful, once more, to reader Clydebuilt for drawing my attention to this report ,suggesting that the Livingston Valneva vaccine, cancelled by the UK Government in September, may be the best yet. Why might it have the edge? From aljazeera.com on 9 November 2021: Rather than induce an immune response that targets just the spike protein of the coronavirus, the Valneva vaccine, also known as VLA2001, stimulates an immune response to the entire virus, and that might just give it an edge over its competitors. It is different in that it uses the tried and tested method of taking the … Continue reading UK Government denies Scots the vaccine with an edge over its competitors!

Above, today’s headline story, the tragic death of one man and his non-medic wife’s belief that the cause was covered-up. Below, the almost identical story with no updated information of any note that I can see, repeated only 24 hours later. Surely John Beattie has a neighbour who knows someone who knows some one who died in hospital. A big Union Flag in the garden would be a nice bonus. If things don’t improve, they’ll need to ask Anas Sarwar to get one of his in-laws to scour their practice records for a suitable candidate. Continue reading BBC Scotland faces shortages of health scare stories

Jack McConnell (76) is Scottish Labour’s youth policy for the days when they can’t start Gordon Brown up. Here he is, the former maths teacher, talking number-free nonsense to badmouth his own country, on its economy and on schools. He knows nothing clearly. Try these: On schools: From the Scottish Government statistics section September 2021: The proportion of schools reported as being in good or satisfactory condition has increased to 90.2% (89.9% in 2020). This is 29 percentage points higher than in April 2007 (61.1%). The publication of ‘School Estates Statistics 2021’ by Scotland’s Chief Statistician also showed that the … Continue reading Dinosaur numbers increasing?

A new Advisory Council Member for the anti-independence group SBUK has popped up. Scottish Business UK (SBUK) is an independent, non-party voice for business leaders who want to see Scotland thrive economically as part of the United Kingdom. It seeks to make a positive case for that future and believes strongly that the campaign to break up the UK offers unacceptable disruption for business and public services, especially as Scotland tries to rebound from the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic. https://scottish-business.uk/about-us/ Ibrahim popped up in 2013, launching the Scotland Institute with Jackson Carlaw, Jo Swinson and Alistair Darling in … Continue reading Honorary US Army officer joins anti-independence business group

AN investigation has been launched into a spike in deaths among newborn babies in Scotland. Official figures reveal that 21 infants died during September within 28 days of birth, causing the neonatal mortality rate to breach an upper warning threshold known as the ‘control limit’ for the first time in at least four years. The neonatal mortality rate at 4.9 per 1 000 live births was significantly above average. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19726487.investigation-launched-abnormal-spike-newborn-baby-deaths-scotland/ So, what do we need to know? Has there been a one month spike before and then a quick return to normality? Just as the birth rate fluctuates from month to … Continue reading Just another blip? Not the news

I don’t understand journalism. I’ve been told that. One TV editor suggested that it was all very well for academics, spending time to find accurate evidence. The editorial decision above is a classic. There were only 7 referrals for concerns related to Islamic extremism, less than a fifth of that, 37, in 2017/18. 45% of the 55 referrals in total were for concerns related to right-wing extremism, up from 22, so doubled. Which is the more dramatic, thus newsworthy headline, down by 30 or up by 22, five times lower or twice as high? The headline is also inaccurate and … Continue reading Massive drop in Islamic terrorist threat in Scotland

From stewartb Today on the BBC News website’s ‘health’ section we find this: ‘First long-acting injection for HIV approved’ The article tells us that ‘Thousands of people with HIV will now be offered a new long-acting injection to manage their condition if they would prefer to stop taking daily pills’; ‘Charities have welcomed the approval of the treatment by the NHS drugs watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’; and ‘An estimated 13,000 people in England could make the switch.’ All positive news! Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59330979 This news was also covered in similar terms this morning on the BBC Radio … Continue reading NHS England ‘first’ but somehow one month later than NHS Scotland: How did we miss that?