Tag: news

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NHS Scotland had 27% fewer delayed hospital discharges than NHS Wales after decades of Labour control there but Scottish Labour conveniently ignore that

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By stewartb More numbers designed to shock from the British Labour Party’s spokesperson on talking down Scotland’s health and social care services! Any context offered? The numbers on delayed discharge are to be deplored but are they really big by comparison to those incurred by Scotland’s peers? From the BBC News website, Wales section (November 11, 2024): ‘Staff burnout warning over plan to free NHS beds’ (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy5lqn19275o ) ‘At any one time, there are about 1,600 patients, mostly elderly, in hospital beds in Wales who are otherwise fit to be discharged. In some hospitals, this is 20% of all beds. ‘But delays around … Continue reading NHS Scotland had 27% fewer delayed hospital discharges than NHS Wales after decades of Labour control there but Scottish Labour conveniently ignore that

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‘The UK’s worst economic performance in post war economic history.’ Devolved government and economic management: the case of Labour governing Wales

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By stewartb – a long read When the UK economy is in a poor state, can governments in Scotland or Wales with devolved powers counter UK economic performance in a substantive way given that key policy levers are ONLY available to Westminster and the UK’s central bank? Proponents of the Union point to Scotland’s economic performance and allege: (i) it’s failing due to the political party that has governed in Edinburgh since 2007; and (ii) to have a successful economy, Scotland needs ‘change’, it needs to have the Labour Party (or the Tories) become the government in Edinburgh. Of course … Continue reading ‘The UK’s worst economic performance in post war economic history.’ Devolved government and economic management: the case of Labour governing Wales

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Jackie Baillie trying to fool you by exploiting the less than 4% delayed hospital discharges in Scotland while hiding from you our 50 times better care at home figures

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to AR for another of his regular alerts. From STV today: The cost of delays to the discharge of patients from hospitals in Scotland has reached nearly £1.5bn over the last 10 years, according to analysis by Scottish Labour. then after 8 paragraphs, this: Health secretary Neil Gray said: “Most people are able to leave hospital with no delays – currently over 96% of all hospital discharges happen without delay – but reducing delayed discharges further is a priority for the Scottish Government. Far more important but being ignored by all of ‘our’ MSM, this from … Continue reading Jackie Baillie trying to fool you by exploiting the less than 4% delayed hospital discharges in Scotland while hiding from you our 50 times better care at home figures

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Herald headline front page news is completely fake as FACTS reveal SNP ensured more, £6k better paid, police officers than when Labour was in power and cut crime by massive 53% in same period

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald, today, with the above, a strange reference to Celtic only, and this opening text: Officers public safety concern over ScotGov police commitment ‘fail’ as crimes rise. Ministers have been warned about a risk to public safety as a past SNP commitment to have at least 17,236 police officers in post has been ‘reneged’ upon while the number of recorded crimes has started to rise. It’s nonsense, all of it. The true facts are, from open, transparent, official, checkable statistics, in Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 30 September 2024, is: Police officer numbers increased by 220 FTE officers (+1.4%) … Continue reading Herald headline front page news is completely fake as FACTS reveal SNP ensured more, £6k better paid, police officers than when Labour was in power and cut crime by massive 53% in same period

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Ford Fiasco as Guardian reveals Scotland’s ferries cost ‘eye wateringly’ less to maintain than the average family car

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I know, I’ve done this already but seeing it in the Guardian, the newspaper of academics and professionals, is a further example of their jaundiced and/or ill-informed coverage when it comes to Scotland but, usefully, prompts me to check if that is actually a lot to spend on maintenance. So, here we go, more sums, stay with me, Primary 5-level sums. The average family car: The average large ferry: Thus, average family car annual maintenance, per passenger, per mile, costs 2p, 7.14 times that of the average large ferry, per passenger per mile. Continue reading Ford Fiasco as Guardian reveals Scotland’s ferries cost ‘eye wateringly’ less to maintain than the average family car

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Canadian Government has to buy wee Norwegian ferry second-hand for private company operating only 3 and losing 2, at last minute, and sail it round the warmer, calmer edges of the Atlantic for a month and 10 000 miles

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From CBC, today: New ferry for beleaguered P.E.I.-N.S. service making its way across Atlantic Ocean – The much-anticipated ferry slated for service between Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S., is crossing the Atlantic Ocean on its way to the Maritimes, Transport Canada says. The ferry, which has been renamed MV Northumberland from MV Fanafjord, was acquired by Transport Canada on Dec. 12. It began its voyage from Norway to Canada on Dec. 23. The federal government paid about $40 million for the vessel. To avoid risks posed by winter conditions in the North Atlantic, the ferry moved south toward Cape Verde, off … Continue reading Canadian Government has to buy wee Norwegian ferry second-hand for private company operating only 3 and losing 2, at last minute, and sail it round the warmer, calmer edges of the Atlantic for a month and 10 000 miles

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Scotland – 8% of the population but 48% of the UK’s wind energy and a massive transfer of 6.1 TWh electricity

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From the Guardian today: UK electricity cleanest ever in 2024, with record 58% from low-carbon sources – UK has more than halved amount of electricity generated from fossil fuels but gas still had largest share at 28% https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/02/uk-electricity-cleanest-ever-in-2024-with-record-58-from-low-carbon-sources There’s no mention of Scotland’s contribution to this: Scotland powers nearly half of UK’s wind energy milestone. Scotland’s wind farms are generating 48% of the UK’s 30GW wind power capacity, with new projects pushing this total higher. https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/08/30/scotland-powers-nearly-half-of-uks-wind-energy-milestone/ Net electricity transfers from Scotland to England [in 2023] increased 15 per cent to 6.0 TWh year-on-year, with transfers from Scotland to England increasing … Continue reading Scotland – 8% of the population but 48% of the UK’s wind energy and a massive transfer of 6.1 TWh electricity

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How to spot spin and inappropriate use of statistics….from Jackie Baillie in the Daily Record

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By stewartb So £4.3 million spent over 5 years in Scotland’s hospitals – or an average of £860,000 per annum. Is that a big number of not? I can’t tell from the Daily Record article! I do note the article gives examples of ‘pests’ present in places like a ‘nurse’s bedroom’, a ‘doctor’s house’ and a ‘dental unit’ as well as hospitals, so the cost must be spread over a very numerous and diverse range of NHS Scotland premises! How much of that sum has been spent on preventative inspection and control measures – sensible and a necessity – as … Continue reading How to spot spin and inappropriate use of statistics….from Jackie Baillie in the Daily Record

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Dismissals increase as Police Scotland deal with abuse in the wake of Everard case in England but overall resignations fall in best paid force with falling crime levels

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From a Police Scotland Freedom of Information response on 17 December 2024, we see a steady increase in the force’s readiness to dismiss officers who have abused their position, from only 1 in 2019, to 7, 8 and 11 in the last three years. This follows Police Scotland action in2021: A new verification check for lone police officers in Scotland has been introduced in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard. Police Scotland said it wanted to reassure the public after she was abducted and killed by Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens. Couzens, 48, used his warrant card to … Continue reading Dismissals increase as Police Scotland deal with abuse in the wake of Everard case in England but overall resignations fall in best paid force with falling crime levels

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Disappointment for journalists as Scottish hospitals report the same level of rats, mice and cockroaches as English hospitals

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The Scottish media today are full of tales of rats, maggots and mice in hospitals, with £4.3m spent on pest control, by NHS Scotland over the last 5 years, on pest control . I can find no NHS England total but judging by a Guardian report in April 2023, based on a Lib Dem Freedom of Information request, each of England’s 142 trusts spent between £120 000 and £380 000 over the last 3 years. So, a conservative figure of £200 000 per trust, on average, over the last 3 years, £300 000 over the last 5? A total of … Continue reading Disappointment for journalists as Scottish hospitals report the same level of rats, mice and cockroaches as English hospitals