At 08:19am yesterday, BBC Scotland cast their nets for a bad news story on ambulance times. 12 hours later they had landed a big one and posted/broadcast the above story of a woman who did experience a long wait, whose family will have been distraught but who did not die. One of those relatives went to the media with the story. He’s not a first-timer. In 2018: Under the Edinburgh News headline ‘Anglers rescue pair from drowning in Linlithgow Loch‘ and this image: we read: A quick-thinking taxi driver who missed the first half of the England vs Sweden match … Continue reading BBC Scotland bad news trawling quickly catches a fish that likes the attention?

I’m confused. More numerate readers help me here. You remember: Scotland continues to have by far the highest drug death rate recorded by any country in Europe. And its rate is more than three-and-a-half times that of England and Wales. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-58024296 See this for Scotland: Note: NRS made it lower at 1339 So, 260 per million overall, 66 per million for the under 35s and 191 per million for the over 35s. See this for England & Wales: So, in 2020, 805 per million overall, twice that in Scotland? What am I missing here? Continue reading Scotland’s drug deaths: help needed

I don’t know about you but I’ve had a few falls, more with age, and I’ve stopped laughing at other people falling. Campbell’s words above are not directly abusive but they are entirely lacking in empathy. Yousaf deserves the same consideration as anyone else. A more humane individual knows how to respond: Continue reading Psychopathy

After the May elections in Scotland, we read in the National, under the above headline: THE Scottish Greens have hit out after a “front for fascists” party with a similar name and logo to theirs may have cost them two regional list seats. Independent Green Voice, whose candidates included an alleged Holocaust denier and two former BNP activists, has been registered with the electoral commission since 2003. But in this election there are concerns their name and logo may have cost the pro-independence party regional seats in Glasgow and South Scotland. https://www.thenational.scot/news/19290315.greens-say-confusion-fascist-front-may-cost-seats/ Today, the Electoral Commission responded: Following the election some voters in … Continue reading Greenwash

By stewartb Headline: Fewer ambulance 999 calls to be classed as ‘life-threatening’ – by Nick Triggle, BBC Health correspondent (13 July 2017) ‘Fewer 999 ambulance calls will be classed as life-threatening and needing a super-fast response in the biggest shake-up of the service in 40 years. ‘The move by the NHS in England – and agreed by ministers – will result in about 8% of call-outs being classed as needing the quickest response. ‘Currently half of call-outs are, but many are not serious or could wait longer for paramedics to arrive.’ (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40592286 ) This article (of course!) gives no indication of … Continue reading NHS England risked lives by changing 999 rules for ambulances in 2017

BBC Scotland launches another of its campaigns to unseat an SNP minister. This rodent-like behaviour is familiar: They found two, two. They found four pupils and one geography teacher, out of many thousands, prepared to moan. The former teacher, above, and others could smell a rat: BBC UK/England, Wales and Northern Ireland do not use this unprofessional approach: Continue reading Ambulance chasing at its most fetid

Once more Scotland’s media exploit a well-intentioned comment by an SNP minister to call for their head yet, elsewhere in the UK things are different: The minister is not asked. No heads are called for. There is no suggestion of lives at risk. The media largely side with the health trust. Again no minister is expected to comment, no heads must roll. There is no suggestion of lives at risk. The media again uncritically supports an appeal by the health trust and notes: The trust is not the only one to make such a plea. In the past 10 days, … Continue reading Think twice or stay away?

Once more, BBC Scotland reports on care home deaths carefully obscuring the role of the private sector. After more than a year attempting to associate the Scottish Government with these deaths, the truth is emerging and we now know that private care homes, especially the larger, corporate-owned homes more reliant of agency staff, are to blame. While the likes of Ian Murray or Anas Sarwar might repeat disproven allegations that hospital discharges were to blame, this thesis is mostly abandoned now. Look at this account: Two residents have died in a Covid outbreak at a care home in the south … Continue reading Protecting the guilty in care home deaths

By stewartb: I see the Scotland section of the BBC News website joins in the quite remarkable mainstream media and opposition party ‘outrage’ after the Scottish Health Secretary reportedly said on Radio Scotland that people should only call an ambulance if ‘absolutely critical’. The BBC website notes: “Scotland’s health secretary has been warned he could put lives at risk after urging people to “think twice” before calling an ambulance. Opposition politicians condemned the comments, which were made in a BBC radio interview, as “reckless” and worse. No doubt we will have more of this on Reporting Scotland this evening (Wednesday). … Continue reading Think twice

Research from Bournemouth University has raised the possibility of future flooding at the Coulport, Faslane, Barrow-in-Furness and Devonport sites. Responding to the report, British Pugwash Secretary Andrew Gibson said: “Dr Brown’s paper demonstrates that a combination of natural and man-made defences mean flood risk is currently manageable at the Trident sites. However, we have every reason to believe sea levels will rise over the coming decades, increasing the risks. This has implications for long-term nuclear defence planning, in terms of adaption, regulation and cost.” https://britishpugwash.org/new-research-on-climate-change-impacts-on-nuclear-security/ Full report at: Click to access ClimateTrident-report-PDF-British-Pugwash-2021.pdf Related: https://www.robedwards.com/2011/10/floods-or-earthquakes-could-cause-radiation-leak-says-bomb-factory-1.html Continue reading Trident sites at risk of flooding