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A closed breastfeeding support service and failed hospital disinfectants research but no mention that Scotland has the lowest stillbirth rate and the cleanest hospitals in the UK

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS BBC Scotland today, headlining: A breastfeeding support service which has helped mums of newborn babies for a decade has closed down after funding was withdrawn. Breastfeeding Buddies was run by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) charity in five hospitals in Greater Glasgow and Lothian, offering peer support to mothers who wanted to breastfeed. The Scottish government had previously funded the scheme directly but this year it said it had allowed the health boards to decide how to meet local need. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian will no longer fund … Continue reading A closed breastfeeding support service and failed hospital disinfectants research but no mention that Scotland has the lowest stillbirth rate and the cleanest hospitals in the UK

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More than 300 published studies prove that safe drug injection facilities reduce mortality and crime in surrounding areas but Reporting Scotland find a handful of locals to claim otherwise.

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….about the number of discarded needles that are being left outside it. Now the council have introduced bins to try to address the problem Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Reporting Scotland tonight reporting for the area around the pilot safe injection facility in Calton in Glasgow, now six months in operation, are uncritically accepting a few local residents’ claims that it has increased drug taking in the area. No reliable figures are offered. The report, typically, has no balance and lazily does not refer to the large body of existing published evidence on such facilities. From 8 years ago: The … Continue reading More than 300 published studies prove that safe drug injection facilities reduce mortality and crime in surrounding areas but Reporting Scotland find a handful of locals to claim otherwise.

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Reporting Scotland Darkly – how research reveals only BBC Scotland’s editors select the nightmares to make you so anxious you fear big changes such as independence

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland’s short inserts in BBC Breakfast would have you not leave the house today. In a quickfire, punchy sequence, the editor had chosen for you – a surge of uncontrolled paedophilia on social media; cuts in social care; the restraining and seclusion of pupils with additional needs and the Scottish Government supposedly failing to manage the NHS [the best in the UK] to tackle long waiting lists. Then quickly, before the weather might cheer you up, a funeral. BBC Wales, always shorter with fewer stories, only had worries over low credit scores; a group evicted … Continue reading Reporting Scotland Darkly – how research reveals only BBC Scotland’s editors select the nightmares to make you so anxious you fear big changes such as independence

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The Netflix hit Adolescence is not a warning for Scotland and the Glasgow Lib Dems are irresponsibly wrong to suggest otherwise

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the National today: AN increase in petty violence among Glasgow’s teenagers could lead to a rise in serious violent crime in the coming years if attitudes go unchecked, an expert has warned. The topic of youth violence has been in the headlines after the success of Netflix hit Adolescence, with creators Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne shining a light on the views and influences that can lead to serious violence. Research conducted by Glasgow LibDems revealed that 2790 violent incidents have taken place in schools within Glasgow in this academic year so far. Neither the film … Continue reading The Netflix hit Adolescence is not a warning for Scotland and the Glasgow Lib Dems are irresponsibly wrong to suggest otherwise

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Does Northern Scotland really have one of the highest rates of Huntington’s disease in the world?

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Yesterday we had: BBC Scotland and STV today have short reports on the higher level of Huntington’s disease in the North of Scotland but with no useful content to inform and to educate readers in the manner they often claim to do, leaving readers with just another ‘Scotland is ****’ story that they can quietly associate with 18 years of SNP-rule. In response today from JB: The above is based on a new study by the University of Aberdeen who state that… “The study, published in Neuroepidemiology, confirmed that Northern Scotland has one of the highest rates of Huntington’s disease in the … Continue reading Does Northern Scotland really have one of the highest rates of Huntington’s disease in the world?

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English media misinterpret A&E waiting times* to let Labour of-the-hook and conceal gap with NHS Scotland treating 11 000 more on time, every month, than would have been treated in NHS England

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today: In emergency departments, 75% of patients were seen within four hours last month [March], up from 73.4% in February. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/10/hospitals-in-england-to-get-unlimited-incentive-payments-for-patients-taken-off-waiting-lists This is a common, sometimes confused, sometimes intentional, misrepresentation of the facts to suggest A&E in England is performing better than it is and, in BBC broadcasts, to suggest it is performing better than in Scotland. In the above NHS England table, you’ll see that for Type 1 emergency departments, only 60.9% were treated within 4 hours. What is Type 1? Type 1 A&E department = A consultant led 24 hour service … Continue reading English media misinterpret A&E waiting times* to let Labour of-the-hook and conceal gap with NHS Scotland treating 11 000 more on time, every month, than would have been treated in NHS England

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Return of the Creepy Uncle

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Jim Draper for alerting me to this. On STV News at 6 last night: An eight-week-old baby is in critical condition after he was given ten times the correct dose of paracetamol at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow. The Shadow Health Secretary is Sandesh Gulhane MSP but, as often before, Anas Sarwar is wheeled out to suggest a crisis in one hospital on the basis of one dosing mistake. Find a Scottish hospital, a baby made very ill or dying, one will do, and he is by magic quickly onscreen to imply … Continue reading Return of the Creepy Uncle

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Old ferries for travellers but luxury cars for ministers: A government’s blatant hypocrisy

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Malta Independent yesterday: Taxpayers’ money funds public services, yet the government’s priorities reveal a striking disparity between its investments in essential transport for Gozitans and its lavish spending on luxury vehicles for ministers and persons of trust. The Gozo Channel vessels, the lifeline for thousands of commuters, continue to age well past their optimal years of service. The government spares no expense in providing brand-new high-end cars for its officials while refusing to allocate funds for new ferries in the yearly budget estimates. Ministers travel in comfort in the latest BMWs, Mercedes, Toyotas, Volvos, … Continue reading Old ferries for travellers but luxury cars for ministers: A government’s blatant hypocrisy

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Police investigate 90 ‘suspicious’ hospital deaths but the Health Secretary is not even mentioned

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: In the Guardian yesterday, this shocking report, above, and: The number of patient deaths being investigated as possible manslaughter at a … Continue reading Police investigate 90 ‘suspicious’ hospital deaths but the Health Secretary is not even mentioned

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Why Scottish police officers have good reason to be annoyed when lumped in with English forces scandals

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS From STV today: Police in Scotland are being placed under “stress”, and public perception of them is changing due to officers in England such as the killer Wayne Couzens, the leader of the Scottish Police Federation has said. David Kennedy said claims by the force’s former chief constable that Police Scotland is institutionally racist and sexist also had a “negative impact” on officers. Mr Kennedy told a fringe event at the Scottish Labour conference that officers had the “relentless task” of dealing with the “constant barrage of issues” stemming from forces south … Continue reading Why Scottish police officers have good reason to be annoyed when lumped in with English forces scandals