On BBC News at 10 last night, we heard that the Conservative pledge in 2015 to boost the GP workforce by 5 000 by 2021 ‘wasn’t met.’ Surely, Reporting Scotland could do a smooth segue into GP shortages here. Nope, three minutes on cops and COP26, sex abuse, Tory cronyism and curling. Why no GP shortages? Continue reading Why doesn’t Reporting Scotland want to talk of GP shortages?
By Alasdair Galloway Over the last three days I have had an exchange with well-known Unionists and SIU member, Alan Fitzpatrick. This was prompted initially by his letter on Tuesday INDY QUESTION IS SIMPLE IS Robert Frazer (Letters, October 11) kidding, or does he really believe that “tens of thousands of ordinary people” are so disinterested in understanding what they would be voting for, or so lacking in intelligence to care, that they would be confused by having to answer such a simple question in an Indyref2 as “Should Scotland remain in the UK? Yes or No”? I doubt such … Continue reading What a bunch of liars
From stewartb: The BBC News website today (14 October) publishes an article headlined ‘GPs told to see more patients in person as A&E waits worsen’. It’s written by its specialist Health Correspondent. (Source https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58904557 ) On A&E performance, we learn here that: ‘In September (2021) a quarter of patients who came to A&E in England waited longer than four hours for treatment.’ And we are told: ‘That is the worst performance since 2004, when the four-hour target was brought in.’ Notwithstanding the sloppy reference to ‘longer than four hours for treatment’ – the formal performance standard is NOT defined in … Continue reading What’s going on at the BBC – deliberate massaging of statistics or careless error?
A staggering 22% ahead of England and 9% of Wales, Scotland has vaccinated 51% of 12-17 year-olds, leads on almost all age groups and is one of only two nations to have done 100% of the over 60s. This has contributed to Scotland having the lowest infection rate and the only part of the UK not currently surging toward winter: Continue reading Scotland far ahead on teen jags
Scotland has now given 150 doses per 100 residents, globally in 15th place and well ahead of the UK on 140, in 24th place, out 150 countries recorded. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations BBC Scotland reports that these figures have been challenged and do not reflect those held in the Scottish Office ‘database.’ Continue reading Scotland’s vaccination programme one of most successful in the World
While differences in reporting may explain some of this in reddit today, diverging crime rates in the UK are all-too real: Continue reading Hard border anyone?
Following on from his Dad and his Gran calling for all of us to save the planet, Will casts doubt on the prioritising of space travel. Wow, radical or what, but will he go where no royal has ever gone and point out his Gran’s hypocrisy on this? What a great question that might have been! Continue reading Should saving Earth come before his Gran’s Braemar estate profits?
Along with the other grey but chubbier old guys dominating the columns of the Herald and the Scotsman, Tom Gordon, defender of the right of royals to flee the plague to Braemar, keeps returning to Nicola. He, partly based on the assessment of the creepy Lib Dem leader, the current one, I know they’re all creepy, insists that Nicola (51) is knackered and that time is not on her side. Please let there be YouTube videos of the three Brians, Wilson, Taylor or Monteith, on the beam. Here’s the best bit: It’s being said? The drumbeat? Playground rumours more like? … Continue reading Knackered old journo compares badly
From BBC Scotland this morning: Vaccine drop-in clinics for 12-15 year olds opened a little over three weeks ago, but more than 40% of the age group have now received at least their first dose. With the vaccination of 16 and 17-year-olds also continuing at a reasonable rate, will Scotland’s youngest teenagers end up better protected from Covid than older age groups? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-58898065 Of course, they first identify the trend within Scotland where the 12-15 year-olds are turning up in greater numbers than and catching up on, the other groups under 50. All very interesting but confusing crude with percentage … Continue reading Covid: Scotland’s teenagers already bucking the UK vaccination trend
Only 37 (0.1%) of Covid cases were reported as definitely picked up in hospitals, down from 53 in the previous week, in the week-ending 28th March 2021. A further 25 (0.2%), down from 27, were probable cases and 25 812 (98.7%) were picked up in the community. Why do they decrease or increase? I bet it’s that SNP not providing enough nurses or cleaners. Well, you’ll see from the two graphs below, hospital-onset infections started to climb at the end of September 2020 as admissions increased. More patients, more infection. Who’d a thunk? The same thing happened in the first … Continue reading Nearly 99% of new Covid cases NOT picked up in hospitals
