From Jamie Shuttleworth in the Herald today: Nearly half of family doctors surveyed by a medical body said they are tempted to quit working as general practitioners (GPs) due to the impact of the pandemic. A survey of 280 GPs by the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS) found that 48% said they were likely to take early retirement or quit the NHS. This is so silly, I should ignore it but I can’t help myself. Dear research lead at MDDU: 280 GPs? Out of more than 5 000? So, 5.6% response rate? Structured or self-response (‘squeaky wheel‘) sample? You … Continue reading Oh no they’re not! FAIL!

In the BBC report today, the facts are there: A Covid vaccine has been offered to residents at every eligible care home in England, the NHS has announced. Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the achievement, expected to be confirmed by official figures on Monday, as a “crucial milestone“. A target of 15 February has been set for the UK to vaccinate care home residents and carers, people over 70 and frontline care workers. The headline chosen by the BBC is one of the four here, the one above or one of the three below. See if you can guess which they went … Continue reading Spot the real headline

BBC 1 tells us this morning: All care home residents in England have now been offered a vaccine and it’s been hailed as an important milestone. Note carefully the language – offered. Later we hear the vaccine has been offered to care homes. Then we hear: In Scotland 94% have now had their first dose. But in England, despite the milestone claim: But NHS England says: and the figures for staff are comparable with the other nations I shouldn’t laugh but really, they’ve just had a letter. The vaccine is still in the warehouses and the comparable figure could be … Continue reading Watch the language as England gets round to ‘offering’ the vaccine for its most vulnerable but it’s far too late for many

Though we’ve had an increase in views for the first time May 2020, the number of visitors fell again, for the 8th month in a row and, dizzyingly, from 177 544 in May 2020 to only 34 640 this month. On the bright side, the extent, relative to overall traffic, and the quality of the debate triggered by posts, I’d argue, has never been more impressive: Comments: January 2021: 1 730 December 2020: 1 345 November: 1 228 October: 1 497 September: 1 263 August: 1 748 July: 1 922 June: 1 336 May: 1 447 Projection of influence (;-)) … Continue reading A select group?

Many thanks to our feeder CMac (not the ferry operator) for this one. In the never-knowingly pro-SNP P&J and buried elsewhere: A UK Government decision to postpone a joint procurement process left emergency pandemic supplies “depleted” and dependent on extending expiry dates. Our investigation has found Scottish health chiefs privately questioned the move and asked whether it was driven by anything other than cost-cutting. Memos obtained by this newspaper show SNP ministers approved a business case for a £4.23 million investment in vital FFP3 respirators for the nation’s pandemic stockpile back in October 2015. So, not only did they try to divert supplies away … Continue reading SNP plans to invest in PPE were sabotaged by Tories!

Two good news stories in one day! It must be my birthday! I’m a big fan of Mike Russell. He is undefeated against any of BBC Scotland’s interviewers or Tory opposition leaders. Who can forget his demolition of Gordon Brewer back in 2010? If he thinks we can have Indyref2 by Christmas, I believe him and I’m officially cheered up. Second, Pacific Quay was on fire? Whoopee! Of course I want the staff to be evacuated safely, well, the cleaners and the jannies. Did the complaints line overheat and self-combust? Did some god of truth send a lightning bolt? Ah, … Continue reading Is it my birthday?

In the FT today: The Scottish government is scrapping a flagship housing scheme designed to help buyers into affordable housing, blaming the Treasury for forcing it into deep budget cuts. As well as hindering first time buyers looking to get on to the housing ladder, the scrapping of the scheme is likely to inflame already fraught tensions between Westminster and the devolved government in Scotland. I haven’t researched the topic so this post may be more of a starter for those of you better-informed but, I’d have thought it better to spend funds on subsidising public sector affordable housing and … Continue reading Why would we want to subsidise affordable housing in the private sector?

And we’re OFF! Remember a few weeks ago when Marr was accusing Nicola Sturgeon of overseeing a higher death than England, based on the only four weeks in the whole year when it was and ignoring the facts that it was much lower as he spoke and had been much lower over the whole year? When it comes to comparisons with the rest of the world, England is replaced with the UK or Britain, to make the rest of us feel included perhaps and to hide England’s shame because Britain doesn’t have the highest death rate in Britain: Regular readers … Continue reading Sweeping England’s dead under a media carpet

BBC Scotland and the Herald keeping you up-to-date if not that informed. 994? Is that bad, better? 60 deaths is clearly terrible but how much? Well, put your thinking cap on: 994 is 161 down from the previous day and 1 655 down from the peak of 2 649 on the 7th of January. The 7 day average is down for the 22nd day in a row. 60 deaths can never be good but it is the first fall, after a day when registration offices were open, since January 12th. 142 were in intensive care, down 2 and down for … Continue reading Covid Update for Age 15+

I’ve lost track of how many time the Herald’s Kevin McKenna has fiddled with the truth to support an attack on the SNP. In a piece today about trans, the people not that business about eating and drinking the messianic corpse, he repeats another myth: Can McKenna just keep on bearing false witness because his faith enables easy forgiveness? It’s not a cardinal sin,. Again, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve countered that myth about hospital discharges causing care home outbreaks but, one more time quickly: There is no evidence at all that any of the discharges of … Continue reading Kevin McKenna repeats care home deaths lie