Stunning NHS Scotland performance with only 2% of operations cancelled due to lack of staff or resources
From NHS Scotland yesterday: The total number of planned operations across NHSScotland during February 2020 was 27,645, which is similar to during February 2019 when there were 27,762. 2,481 operations (9.0% of all planned operations) were cancelled in February 2020, ranging from 5.6% to 12.4% across individual NHS Boards. This compares to 2,455 (8.8%) in February 2019. In February 2020, of all planned operations: 3.3% were cancelled by the patient; 3.3% were cancelled by the hospital based on clinical reasons; 2.0% were cancelled by the hospital due to capacity or non-clinical reasons; 0.3% were cancelled due to other reasons. https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/healthcare-resources/waiting-times/cancelled-planned-operations/ … Continue reading Stunning NHS Scotland performance with only 2% of operations cancelled due to lack of staff or resources
Updated: NHS Scotland A&E is astonishing 21% faster than NHS England
In February 2020, 87.1% of attendances at NHS Scotland A&E services were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours. https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/health-services/hospital-care/nhs-performs-weekly-update-of-emergency-department-activity-and-waiting-time-statistics/ In NHS England Type 1 A&E departments only 73% were seen within 4 hours https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2019-20/ The difference of 15.1% means that NHS Scotland A&E was performing a remarkable 20.6% better than NHS England. Footnote: March statistics seem likely to show NHS Scotland to be 26% better. Continue reading Updated: NHS Scotland A&E is astonishing 21% faster than NHS England
The trend is down
When we saw the dramatic surge in cases of coronavirus in 1st April, up from 179 to 430, many of us feared the worst. I did. Then when it fell for the next two days, I hoped. Then when it went up and down for four days, I wasn’t sure what to think. Drawing the graph helped to suggest that April 1st was a peak but the trend isn’t that clear based on just how it looks. However, when you group the data in blocks of 3 or 4 days and generate daily averages you get something more explicit. Starting … Continue reading The trend is down
As a British party, British Labour is part of the British establishment.
Peter A Bell There was never any chance of federalism being on the ballot in the 2014 referendum. It was not possible for it to be on the ballot for the simple and rather obvious reason that a federal arrangement would affect the entire UK. Such a vote would have to be put to voters across the UK. It could not be decided by just one part of the UK. It was, therefore, definitively undeliverable. A referendum with undeliverable options is a farce. The so-called ‘second question’ on the 2014 referendum ballot referred to an undefined ‘devo-max’ option. Alex Salmond … Continue reading As a British party, British Labour is part of the British establishment.
Care homes deaths are now the chosen tactic by BBC Scotland so what about some statistics from BBC UK?
As Scotland’s hospitals excel in controlling and now reducing deaths, Reporting Scotland have become champions of care homes workers and patients, with numerous reports including: I think I’m right in saying that none of the deaths have yet been confirmed as caused by coronavirus. Never mind that! Lisa Summers was right in there today holding the First Minister to account: ‘BBC Scotland’s health correspondent Lisa Summers asks for information on the testing of care workers. She also wonders whether the army will be deployed to deliver PPE supplies to the sector.’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-scotland-52140353 Needless to say it’s all the usual tabloid … Continue reading Care homes deaths are now the chosen tactic by BBC Scotland so what about some statistics from BBC UK?
Scotland: Coronavirus death rate in hospitals falls significantly
Four deaths were announced over last weekend and together with these 74 announced today by the FM after being delayed by the NRS not operating a seven-day service, gives a total of 78 for three three days, 5, 6 and 7 April. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-scotland-52140353 Using recommended statistical practice we might discover the trend if we then compare the figure for these three days with figure for the previous three – 2, 3 and 4 April. The increases in new deaths over these three days were 29, 46 and 46, giving a total of 121. https://www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker/ So 121 new deaths over 2nd, … Continue reading Scotland: Coronavirus death rate in hospitals falls significantly
New cases in a ‘Herald surge’ or a plateau if you can read the numbers
That’s the Herald’s exciting headline on new cases. I’ll deal with the deaths in another post. Here are the stats from BBC Scotland: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-scotland-52140353 So, 268 new cases in the last 24 hours, ‘surging’ up 13 from 255 the previous day and down from the 300 plus in three days before that. Here’s the graph: So an overall fall maintained over 7 days and the peak is still well ahead of us? It doesn’t look like it. It looks like the social distancing is working. Continue reading New cases in a ‘Herald surge’ or a plateau if you can read the numbers
I think we know that the ‘Calderwood saga’ will damage her as much as the Salmond and Mackay sagas didn’t
Scott Macnab of the Herald does well to be less certain than many of his colleagues have been about damage to her and to the SNP, resulting from those fading sagas around Derek Mackay and Alex Salmond. The polls are clear. SNP support has been climbing since December from 40-45% to hover around 50% in last 4. Unless we think support would’ve have been even higher at say 60% but for these sagas, we can be sure that they have neither harmed the party nor its leadership. More accurately, from the Opinium poll on 26th March respondents were asked: To … Continue reading I think we know that the ‘Calderwood saga’ will damage her as much as the Salmond and Mackay sagas didn’t
Labour says goodbye to Corbyn, to a second referendum and to ‘all that’
The Herald headline above fails to finish off with the dire prospects for Labour if they join with the Tories again to deny Scotland a second independence referendum. The evidence is staring them in the face. For some time now, opinion polls have put them down in 3rd place with support declining all the time and both the Tories and SNP pulling away from them. The Opinium poll on 26th March had them at 8%! And they think strong opposition to Indyref2 is the answer? In August 2019, an Ashcroft poll suggested 40% of Scottish Labour voters support independence and … Continue reading Labour says goodbye to Corbyn, to a second referendum and to ‘all that’
Scottish care home deaths ‘after’ a coronavirus outbreak were headline news on BBC Scotland, England and UK but those in 8 English areas are not.
The report of deaths ‘after’ a coronavirus outbreak in a Glasgow care home was all over BBC Scotland, TV, radio and website, the Herald, the Scotsman, the Sun and so on, but it also made the UK news too as a big story. It featured 7 times in one morning on BBC Breakfast. The folk in these homes are particularly vulnerable anywhere in the UK so, I wondered why we hadn’t heard of any comparable outbreaks elsewhere. I guess there can’t have been any or the BBC would surely have told us? I had a ten minute search: April 5th: … Continue reading Scottish care home deaths ‘after’ a coronavirus outbreak were headline news on BBC Scotland, England and UK but those in 8 English areas are not.
