Higher Education student debt in the ‘UK’ – a student nurse in England owes £77 000! A student nurse in Scotland owes nothing

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC UK today: An inquiry into student loans is being launched by MPs amid “widespread dissatisfaction” over repayment terms. The Treasury Committee will examine whether the recent decision to freeze the repayment threshold for many graduates in England is fair. The inquiry will also look at whether repayment terms are “reasonable” when considered alongside the “broader taxation of graduates” such as income tax. The Department for Education (DfE) said the freezes aimed to “protect taxpayers and students”. … Continue reading Higher Education student debt in the ‘UK’ – a student nurse in England owes £77 000! A student nurse in Scotland owes nothing

As Scottish Cons campaign on drug deaths the FIVE years of success in turning them around, the reasons for that and the reasons it’s not even better than that

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Annie Wells and Russell Findlay Who?, outside a pharmacy in Possilpark to campaign for the next election on Scotland’s drug deaths, luckily for them, still the highest in Europe. Did no one tell them that negative campaigning doesn’t work that well? Here are the facts: The drug deaths trend in Scotland has been downward for these last five years, from 1 339 in 2020 to 1 017. A 24.2% fall, by a quarter in only 5 years after … Continue reading As Scottish Cons campaign on drug deaths the FIVE years of success in turning them around, the reasons for that and the reasons it’s not even better than that

One third of English patients using private dentists because they have only half the level of access to NHS dentists in Scotland

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In the Guardian today: Almost a third of people in England now use private dentistry, with a sharp rise in the number of poorer households forced to pay for fillings and extractions. The scarcity of NHS care means the proportion of people turning to private dental services jumped from 22% in 2023 to 32% late last year, the health service’s patient watchdog found. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/09/nhs-dental-crisis-private-dentist-patient-incease-england We’re hearing nothing even vaguely similar from the media in Scotland and you can be sure … Continue reading One third of English patients using private dentists because they have only half the level of access to NHS dentists in Scotland

What has the SNP ever done for you? How about stopping private companies using NHS facilities, NHS equipment and NHS staff to enable the private companies to generate a huge profit?

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From our regular and much-valued, non-Russian spy, France McKie, from Every Doctor, the campaign against NHS privatisation, yesterday: I wouldn’t be surprised if you hadn’t heard of “NHS in-sourcing”, because the newspapers don’t talk about it very much. But it’s one of the most mind-boggling forms of NHS privatisation! Essentially, NHS Trusts are desperate to bring down their waiting lists, and many are now paying private companies to come in out-of-hours and use NHS resources to do NHS … Continue reading What has the SNP ever done for you? How about stopping private companies using NHS facilities, NHS equipment and NHS staff to enable the private companies to generate a huge profit?

12 hour A&E waits – TWICE as common in NHS Wales than in NHS Scotland and not far short of that in NHS England

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON This was researched by stewartb. I’ve just framed it a bit. Here’s what stewartb sent me: Dr Fiona Hunter, RCEM Vice President for Scotland is quoted in a press statement (March 3) headed: ‘Scottish A&E 12-hour waits hit ‘grim milestone’ of 10,000 in worst month on record’. It is commenting on ED performance figures for January 2026. Commenting on ED waits, she states: “Just because the situation here is better than in other UK nations does not mean the status … Continue reading 12 hour A&E waits – TWICE as common in NHS Wales than in NHS Scotland and not far short of that in NHS England

Major reduction in hospital delayed discharge times

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From Delayed discharges in NHS Scotland monthly Figures for January 2026 published yesterday: The average (median) length of delay for people delayed at the January 2026 census was 23 days. This is less than as at the census point in December 2025 (28 days), November 2025 (27 days) and October 2025 (29 days). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly/delayed-discharges-in-nhs-scotland-monthly-figures-for-january-2026/main-points/ How important is this kind of information, 20% reduction in median, for NHS Scotland? Short-term trend improvement — A drop from 28–29 days median … Continue reading Major reduction in hospital delayed discharge times

BBC Scotland take 42 days to find a sentence to use in responding to complaint about coverage of alleged hospital deaths but carefully do not mention the very next one – ‘it is our view that, even without the infection, their survival would still have been uncertain’

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON No tasteless, exploitative and titillating images of dead children required here. On January 19th 2026, I sent this complaint to the BBC regarding their coverage of the QEUH water supply infections: 10 days later, they apologised for the delay in responding. In my experience, they never meet their 10 day target, suggesting they’re under pressure from unhappy viewers in greater numbers than before. 28 days later, this: We are writing to apologise that we’ve not been able to … Continue reading BBC Scotland take 42 days to find a sentence to use in responding to complaint about coverage of alleged hospital deaths but carefully do not mention the very next one – ‘it is our view that, even without the infection, their survival would still have been uncertain’

Everything is then to be considered as British and so ready to be privatised……..

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON By Liz S The media report that “US tech giant Palantir has wrapped its tentacles around the British state, securing major contracts with the Ministry of Defence and the NHS”. But  the US data analytics firm Palantir is not operating within NHS Scotland……….as in reference to the NHS and the “British State”. So even information online states that “NHS England is a separate entity from NHS Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland” and also “The Palantir deal, which has faced significant backlash from privacy campaigners and doctors’ groups, is specific to NHS … Continue reading Everything is then to be considered as British and so ready to be privatised……..

As it falls in NHS Scotland, BBC England evidence for corridor care surges in North of England is based correctly on our method and not that used by the Herald and repeated lazily by BBC Scotland

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC England today, the above and: More than 52,000 patients waited longer than 24 hours to be admitted to hospitals across north-west England last year, a BBC investigation has revealed. Known as “corridor care”, patients are lining up on trolleys or sitting on chairs, stuck in A&E because there are no beds for them in the wards. The Royal College of Nursing has described the situation as a “national emergency” and called on the government to end … Continue reading As it falls in NHS Scotland, BBC England evidence for corridor care surges in North of England is based correctly on our method and not that used by the Herald and repeated lazily by BBC Scotland

Why are more GPs opting to work outside the NHS? They’re not in Scotland where almost 100% work in the NHS

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC England this morning, the above and: In her consulting room, Dr Yvonne Girgis-Hanna is at work as a GP, but not for the NHS. She is one of an increasing number of family doctors opting to practise privately. “I could not work as a full‑time NHS GP,” she says. “The days I do in the NHS, the next day I’m totally wiped out… You might have 30 face‑to‑face contacts, then extra telephone calls and paperwork. You … Continue reading Why are more GPs opting to work outside the NHS? They’re not in Scotland where almost 100% work in the NHS