No publishable evidence of patients left in pain and to die alone in Scotland, survey finds
By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian, today, days before an election: NHS patients are being left unseen in pain and in some cases to die alone because shifts do not have enough registered nurses, a survey shows. The Royal College of Nursing said analysis of a survey it carried out showed that only a third of shifts had enough registered nurses on duty. The union has also gathered testimonies from nurses who talk of always “rushing” and being asked to do more; working in “completely unsafe” levels of care; and having to make “heartbreaking” decisions on who does or doesn’t get … Continue reading No publishable evidence of patients left in pain and to die alone in Scotland, survey finds
Now that’s what I call a f****** ferry fiasco as New Zealand’s Tories ‘rat-f***’ their own ferry company
Regular readers may remember that New Zealand’s state-owned lifeline Cook Strait Ferries have been drifting toward rocks with hundreds on board, running into harbours and stranding passengers on the wrong harbour with their elderly vessels, on average 10 years older than out CalMac boats.. The outgoing Labour government oversaw a contract for two new ferries ballooning to $2 billion and the incoming National (conservative) government completely cancelled the deal with a $3 million penalty to the Korean builders, putting the Ferguson Marine delays and over-runs into perspective. Tomorrow in the NZ Daily blog: Let’s get this completely straight. KiwiRail negotiates … Continue reading Now that’s what I call a f****** ferry fiasco as New Zealand’s Tories ‘rat-f***’ their own ferry company
Lib Dem-assisted Conservative Council risks child exploitation for the Union
Aberdeenshire Council is run by a Conservative & Unionist/Lib Dem coalition. Former Berkshire Constituency agent for the Maidenhead Conservatives, Gillian Owen is the council leader whom was responsible for the education committee letting a school photographer take selective photographs to exclude children with complex needs. See: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2024/03/29/if-it-wasnt-the-aberdeenshire-school-it-was-the-tory-council-that-instructed-or-allowed-the-photographers-to-offer-parents-selective-class-photos/ Today, I see in the Dorset Echo: A safeguarding evening will be held in a primary school in Weymouth where parents will be informed how to keep children safe from modern dangers. Chickerell Primary Academy will be holding a free discussion evening from 6pm to 7.30pm at Willowbed Hall. The Escapeline charity, which … Continue reading Lib Dem-assisted Conservative Council risks child exploitation for the Union
Labour’s passivity on child poverty – ‘the country ‘can’t afford’ to end it
By stewartb In the news article referenced below on the increasing rates of child poverty in NE England, we learn of the Labour Party’s considered position – essentially the ‘country’, the UK can’t afford to end the child poverty associated with the Tories’ two child benefit cap! Source: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/labours-promise-reverse-north-east-190000891.html – ‘‘Labour’s promise to reverse North East child poverty rise and cut life expectancy gap’ In the article we learn: ‘New analysis published today [Friday] by the TUC has revealed a 44 per cent increase in child poverty among working households in the region – with more than one in four children in working households … Continue reading Labour’s passivity on child poverty – ‘the country ‘can’t afford’ to end it
Vote for KEEPING child poverty with Labour
By Professor John Robertson Astonishing! FFS Labour voted against the Scottish Child Payment, plan no reversal of the two-child benefit cap, have voted against free school meals and in Labour Wales, child poverty is far higher, yet the Daily Record allow Brown to lie shamefaced. In the Guardian on June 7th 2024: Local child poverty rates across the UK correlate very strongly with the percentage of families affected by the two-child benefit cap, research has found, indicating that the controversial policy is a key factor behind children growing up in deprivation. The study, carried out by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Coalition, will … Continue reading Vote for KEEPING child poverty with Labour
CalMac ferry cancellations due to technical faults at only 2% to confirm status as best, 98% reliable, safest and cheapest for passengers, ferry service in the world
The Herald today is platforming a Conservatives freedom of information figure of 3 215 CalMac ferry crossings cancelled due to technical problems in the first nine months of 2023, under the headline – CalMac ferry cancellations a ‘shocking betrayal’ of islanders. WTF just the first nine months? CalMac makes around 400 to 500 crossings every day of the year. Let’s go with the lower figure. That’s around 150 000 per year. The 3 215 make up only 2.14%. Any other cancellations are due to dangerous weather. CalMac has never lost a passenger, never mind a ferry, due to mistakes of … Continue reading CalMac ferry cancellations due to technical faults at only 2% to confirm status as best, 98% reliable, safest and cheapest for passengers, ferry service in the world
In Labour Wales A&E nearly twice as many wait more than 8 hours and three times as many wait more than 12 hours
By stewartb Latest update for the Labour politicians in Scotland who constantly berate the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland on A&E waiting times: Latest on waits in the main A&E departments in the NHS in Wales – from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (https://rcem.ac.uk/summer-provides-no-respite-for-over-stretched-emergency-departments/ ) 1) ’44.1% of patients (more than 2/5) waited four hours or longer (up 10.6% on April 2024)’ – so just 58.6% discharged, transferred or admitted within four hours. The RCEM reports ‘the number of patients having to wait more than four hours has almost doubled since 2017’. 2) ’23.2% (more than 1/5) of people waited … Continue reading In Labour Wales A&E nearly twice as many wait more than 8 hours and three times as many wait more than 12 hours
Labour’s GB Energy policy merits so much more objective appraisal than it has received from the media
By stewartb The chameleon that has been the Labour Party’s GB Energy policy merits so much more objective appraisal than it has received from the media. This deficit in critical assessment is important – is to be deprecated – given that GB Energy (GBE), and the location of its HQ, is clearly being pushed by Labour as its big inducement to voters in Scotland. IMHO GB Energy is the GREAT OBFUSCATION! What follows is just one example of the gushing, uncritical reporting that may well prove successful in seducing some voters in Scotland: ‘Thousands of Scottish jobs’ created by Labour’s … Continue reading Labour’s GB Energy policy merits so much more objective appraisal than it has received from the media
Labour’s GB Energy has been a bit of a shapeshifter
By stewartb It’s not often that I’m inclined to write anything positive about a BBC Scotland journalist’s contribution. But here goes! The BBC’s ‘Business and Economy Editor, Scotland’, Douglas Fraser had an article (24 June) in the Scotland Business section of the BBC News website under this headline: ‘What would ‘GB Energy’ mean for Scotland’s green economy?’ (See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyxxxljq070o ) (Never unalloyed reaction to BBC Scotland tho’! Curiously, this article which attempts a critical appraisal did NOT appear in the Scotland Politics section despite this being six lines in: ‘Labour makes a big play of setting up GB Energy.’) – (my emphasis). We … Continue reading Labour’s GB Energy has been a bit of a shapeshifter
GREWDOG
I’ve never liked the taste of any BREWDOG beers but the latest news from this company, confirms my distaste for the owner and his business culture. In the business news site, Insider, today: BrewDog has been criticised for sacking an Asian woman after she complained about members of the English Defence League (EDL) meeting in the London bar she worked at. Members of the far right group met unchallenged at the Scottish brewer’s flagship bar at Waterloo, ahead of a St George’s Day rally. https://www.insider.co.uk/news/brewdog-sacks-asian-worker-after-33125447 The EDL: Kind of puts the England beer cans into perspective but this tolerance of … Continue reading GREWDOG
