There is no hospital in Scotland you need fear attending but in England, 31 you might be wary of and 5 you really need to stay away from
Professor John Robertson OBA Once again Public Health Scotland publish figures showing that all of Scotland’s hospitals are operating with the same high safety levels as each other. In the above chart we can see that all bar one, from the smaller hospitals on the left, to the giant Queen Elisabeth University Hospital on the right, no hospitals had a significantly higher standardised mortality ratio than the national average. From Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios July 2024 to June 2025, published yesterday, the above graph and: For the period July 2024 to June 2025: HSMR is a risk-adjusted hospital mortality measure … Continue reading There is no hospital in Scotland you need fear attending but in England, 31 you might be wary of and 5 you really need to stay away from
Nearly THREE times as many emergency patients per capita wait 12 hours or more in NHS England than in NHS Scotland
By stewartb Campaign against austerity needed to push Westminster to support the NHS in England, NI and Wales even to match the A&E waiting times performance in Scotland – for the sake of all patients across the UK. The RCEM is an active campaigner in the cause of NHS staff and patients involved with NHS emergency services across the UK. It responds frequently to the release of official waiting times performance statistics by issuing press statements. The RCEM is especially ‘diligent’ and especially hard-hitting politically when responding to the situation in Scotland. Moreover, it seems to be accorded an especially … Continue reading Nearly THREE times as many emergency patients per capita wait 12 hours or more in NHS England than in NHS Scotland
Satisfaction with local health services TWICE as high in Scotland and more so in rural areas to cast doubt on BMA Dr Kennedy’s politically motivated comments
From Scottish Household Survey 2024: Satisfaction with Local Health Services and Sport and Leisure Facilities, published today: Across Scotland, the percentage of adults who said they were satisfied with the quality of local health services has fallen by 6 percentage points from 67% in 2023 to 61% in 2024. 69% of respondents living in Remote Rural areas said they were satisfied with the quality of local health services compared with 63% living in Large Urban Areas and 57% in Other Urban Areas. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-household-survey-2024-local-health-services-and-local-authority-sport-and-leisure-facilities/ From The King’s Fund, in April 2025: 31% of people in England were satisfied (“very” or “quite” … Continue reading Satisfaction with local health services TWICE as high in Scotland and more so in rural areas to cast doubt on BMA Dr Kennedy’s politically motivated comments
Breastfeeding more common for first time as Scottish Government’s most progressive and well-funded promotion programme in the UK pays-off
Professor John Robertson OBA From Infant feeding statistics Financial year 2024 to 2025, published today, the above momentous graph and: Supporting breastfeeding is an important public health activity, with strong evidence that breastfeeding protects the health of children and mothers. The information is collected at Health Visitor reviews of children at 10-14 days (First Visit), 6-8 weeks, and 13-15 months of age. Main points There have been notable increases in breastfeeding – 69% of babies reviewed in Scotland in 2024/25 were breastfed for at least some time after their birth, compared with 63% in 2016/17. In 2024/25, and for the first time … Continue reading Breastfeeding more common for first time as Scottish Government’s most progressive and well-funded promotion programme in the UK pays-off
Why “Motormouth” is a very apt description of Anas Sarwar
By Liz S “Sarwar refuses to comment on UK tax hike speculation“ Really ? Yet he, Sarwar, is not slow in commentating upon and also speculating upon so many other things that he says the SNP are currently doing wrong and that they , the SNP, will also do wrong if they win again next year, where as he says that he and his party will apparently do far far better if they win in Scotland next year. (Big if) The BBC article states that “the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has refused to be drawn on speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will raise UK income tax“. Indeed I bet he does, as he knows only too well the negative financial impact this will have upon Scotland , though when … Continue reading Why “Motormouth” is a very apt description of Anas Sarwar
4 000 Scottish cancer patients treated on time, in just one year, who would not have been had they lived in Labour Wales where they even set their sights lower
Remember that 11% gap (above) with Wales means around 4 000 were treated on time in Scotland who would not have been, had they lived in Wales. Similarly around 800 who would not have been treated on time in England. Professor John Robertson OBA Why is BBC Scotland NOT linking to this dramatic cancer waiting times story today, like BBC UK is? BBC UK this morning, above. BBC Scotland below, not linking? Wonder why? Could it be because those BBC UK staff keep forgetting there’s a war on up here and that BBC readers might see that bloody graph (above), … Continue reading 4 000 Scottish cancer patients treated on time, in just one year, who would not have been had they lived in Labour Wales where they even set their sights lower
Early release of prisoners can cause anxiety but shouldn’t taxpayer-funded media tell people that only 5% will re-offend on release from prisons with twice as many staff per capita?
Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland, today, has the above choice as the headline, neatly emphasising the negative and implicating the Minister with that wee ‘admits minister‘ but forgetting it should be ‘admits the minister after we choose that question,’ Nowhere in the report is this: The return-to-custody rate [not just re-offending but also breaching licence conditions] for the early 2025 tranche was only 5%. This was based on a Scotsman newspaper report1 as official data are not yet published. The kinds of re-offending breakdown is not yet available from the 2025 tranche but for the late 2024 group of … Continue reading Early release of prisoners can cause anxiety but shouldn’t taxpayer-funded media tell people that only 5% will re-offend on release from prisons with twice as many staff per capita?
UK Unemployment surges to massive 35% higher than in Scotland – will ‘SNP’ Government get the credit just as they would have been blamed if it was the other way round?
Professor John Robertson OBA These two headlines today and the full text, reveal the agenda in editorial decision-making, in BBC Scotland reporting, to conceal good news about Scotland, after 18 years of SNP rule. Imagine the figures were the other way round, they would have been compared, like the drug deaths, and the worse figure linked to government mismanagement with a quote from an opposition politician. Obliged to report the change of 0.1%, from 3.8% to 3.7%, they refer to that as ‘slight’ knowing most will accept that only 0.1% does seem small and concealing the fact that it refers … Continue reading UK Unemployment surges to massive 35% higher than in Scotland – will ‘SNP’ Government get the credit just as they would have been blamed if it was the other way round?
Isle of Wight Tory MP calls for ferry pricing regulation introduced by SNP in 2008 to transform Scottish island economies and then be forgotten by the ungrateful among them
Professor John Robertson OBA From the Independent last week: Ferries which connect island communities to mainland Britain are in decline, an MP has warned in his push to bring boats more in line with buses and trains. Joe Robertson said the Isle of Wight’s 140,400 residents have little say over how ferries are run across the Solent to Hampshire. He has tabled the Ferry Services (Integration and Regulation) Bill which, if agreed, would set up a framework for regulating boat routes throughout the country. Bus and train operators must follow several laws, such as the new Bus Services Act this month, which gives councils the … Continue reading Isle of Wight Tory MP calls for ferry pricing regulation introduced by SNP in 2008 to transform Scottish island economies and then be forgotten by the ungrateful among them
Good news you won’t hear – 72 000 Scottish workers receive pay boost thanks to Scottish Government
Professor John Robertson OBA Not being reported by BBC Scotland or BBC Scotland Business, despite being announced 8 hours ago on the Scottish Government‘s news website, on automatic Google alerts or followed, you’d think, by all serious serious journalists: A record 4,000 employers in Scotland are now paying their staff at least the real Living Wage, boosting the salaries of 72,000 employees and supporting them with rising costs. The milestone has been reached at the start of Living Wage Week, which celebrates the transformative impact the real living wage can have for workers and businesses alike, and encourages employers to … Continue reading Good news you won’t hear – 72 000 Scottish workers receive pay boost thanks to Scottish Government
Talking-up Scotland 