Reposted with no paywall – Why the ‘hospital deaths’ won’t result in criminal charges, why Scots don’t do DIY dentistry, why we don’t need nuclear energy for radiopharmaceuticals and why the Daily Record’s ‘Scotland’s mean streets’ is a dirty big lie

Support Talking-up Scotland to keep rebutting the lies almost every day of the year, at https://t.co/xFcIcegHTy They will make as much as they can of this in the weeks between now and 7th May when the voters go to the polls to elect the next Scottish Government but as with the other attempts to undermine the reputation of the SNP in governance, nothing will come of it. I’ll eat my hat etc. Have there been any comparable investigations into potentially fatal hospital acquired infections leading to prosecutions and punishment, anywhere in the UK, ever? Yes, four. From an AI search … Continue reading Reposted with no paywall – Why the ‘hospital deaths’ won’t result in criminal charges, why Scots don’t do DIY dentistry, why we don’t need nuclear energy for radiopharmaceuticals and why the Daily Record’s ‘Scotland’s mean streets’ is a dirty big lie

Former Labour candidate in BBC Scotland’s attack on supposed ‘under-fire’ Scottish health boards today yet none are being investigated like the 16 English health trust maternity units which are in ‘special measures’ for high mortality, 4 investigated by the police

Support Talking-up Scotland -In this election year in Scotland, the 90% pro-Union media and their sponsors in the opposition parties will do everything they can to undermine the pro-independence parties. Thought vastly outnumbered, we will do our very best to counter their lies and get you, every day, the true stories and the sources of evidence to prove them. Help us if you can at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-get-the-facts-for-you In the Daily Record, 2 July 2010: LABOUR has selected union official Matt McLaughlin as the party’s candidate to fight next year’s Scottish Parliament election. Mr McLaughlin was chosen as the party’s standard-bearer for … Continue reading Former Labour candidate in BBC Scotland’s attack on supposed ‘under-fire’ Scottish health boards today yet none are being investigated like the 16 English health trust maternity units which are in ‘special measures’ for high mortality, 4 investigated by the police

As one student nurse in England faces £77 thousand in debt Scotland’s free training and bursary means TWICE as many train to then give us 50% more nurses in hospitals and lower mortality rates

In the Guardian today: Helen Lambert borrowed £57,000 to go to university and began repaying her student loan in 2021 after starting work as an NHS nurse. Since then she has repaid more than £5,000, typically having about £145 a month taken from her pay packet. But everything she hands over is dwarfed by the £400-plus of interest that is added to her debt every month, thanks to rates that have been as high as 8%. Her total outstanding debt had ballooned to more than £77,000 by the end of November, and it is set to get a lot bigger as there … Continue reading As one student nurse in England faces £77 thousand in debt Scotland’s free training and bursary means TWICE as many train to then give us 50% more nurses in hospitals and lower mortality rates

Scottish Government delivers on pledge to increase dentistry student numbers and further widen gap with other parts of UK

From Scottish dentistry student numbers increase, published 22 January 2026 11:35 The number of Scottish students starting Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) courses has increased by 7% – the highest increase in a decade. The boost in student numbers fulfils a Scottish Government pledge to deliver an expanded pipeline of new dentists joining the workforce from 2029. The increase, which came in 2025-26, will be further supported by the Draft Budget for 2026-27 which outlines record funding of over £526.5 million for the sector. The number of Scottish students starting BDS courses has risen by 10 places, up from 135 … Continue reading Scottish Government delivers on pledge to increase dentistry student numbers and further widen gap with other parts of UK

The embarrassing gap in intelligence, maturity and credibility between the writing of Daily Record reporters and that of AI

I was going to write this myself and I will add some evidence of NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s health below but, you know, we’re busy here and frankly, it’s not worth it, is it? So Grok AI – ‘Is it accurate to refer to NHS Ayrshire Arran as ‘crippled?’ No, it is not accurate to describe NHS Ayrshire and Arran as “crippled” in any objective, factual sense, though the term has appeared in some sensational media headlines.The health board is undoubtedly facing very serious challenges, particularly financial ones, as highlighted by official audits and reports from late 2025: These issues … Continue reading The embarrassing gap in intelligence, maturity and credibility between the writing of Daily Record reporters and that of AI

Reliable transparent 12 hour A&E figures confirm corridor care in NHS Scotland less than half as common as in Labour-run England but Daily Record uses a single tragedy on behalf of Labour in Scotland

It’s another single case plucked out by grubby figures, taking advantage of a distressed family and platformed, front page, by a newspaper little better than a Labour party election leaflet. Explicit figures are not published anywhere but there’s a good proxy for corridor care and that’s 12 hour waits in A&E. By definition if you’re waiting 12 hours after triage assessment and maybe some treatment before getting a bed, that is ‘corridor care.’ A fuller AI rationale for the use of 12 hour waits, based heavily on the views of the Royal College of Medicine, Age Concern and even NHS England itself, … Continue reading Reliable transparent 12 hour A&E figures confirm corridor care in NHS Scotland less than half as common as in Labour-run England but Daily Record uses a single tragedy on behalf of Labour in Scotland

Thanks to mutual respect and constant effort by SNP health secretaries Scotland still has seen not one health service strike, 150 000 procedures and unknown thousands of lives have been saved

Less than one month ago, BBC Scotland’s Lisa Summers announced gleefully: Scotland’s resident doctors are to go on strike in a dispute over pay – the first time a national walkout has been staged by NHS workers. Their union BMA Scotland had accused the government of reneging on a commitment to restore pay to 2008 levels. With 92% of those who turned out voting in favour, strike dates have been set for 07:00 on Tuesday 13 January to 07:00 on Saturday 17 January 2026. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjdrp9205vro Yesterday, Health Correspondent Lisa was clearly not available (stress?) and Phil Sim (Who?) had to … Continue reading Thanks to mutual respect and constant effort by SNP health secretaries Scotland still has seen not one health service strike, 150 000 procedures and unknown thousands of lives have been saved

Scotland’s Auditor General fails to audit the most important thing in the NHS and England’s doesn’t even try when he really should do

Thanks to cuckooshoe for alerting us to this: Scotland’s high-profile media auditor, Stephen Boyle, has been all over with his latest claim of delayed discharges costs damaging NHS Scotland.1 From the Institute for Government report – Performance Tracker 2025: Hospitals – published on 14 November 2025: There was no month in 2024/25 in which general and acute bed occupancy was below 91.4%, well above the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s recommendation that trusts should have an upper ceiling of 85% for bed occupancy.2 The auditor general for England has not audited this in living memory and certainly never bothers to … Continue reading Scotland’s Auditor General fails to audit the most important thing in the NHS and England’s doesn’t even try when he really should do

First a Scottish Labour MP, then Alex Neill and now Jackie Baillie platformed to lie about NHS Scotland as nearly THREE times as many emergency patients per capita wait 12 hours or more in NHS England than in NHS Scotland

Professor John Robertson OBA From the Daily Record today: A&E departments in Scots hospitals in ‘meltdown’ with waiting times at ‘worst ever’ level – A&E departments in Scots hospitals are in “meltdown” after waiting times reached their worst ever level for the month of November. First, I’ll deal with the 4 hour waits: From A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions 2025-26, 60.1% were treated in Type 1 A&E departments, within 4 hours.1 In NHS Scotland, the equivalent figure was 62.8%.2 Remember that 2.7% difference means 40 000 more patients out of 1.46m attending Type 1 A&E, in NHS England would have … Continue reading First a Scottish Labour MP, then Alex Neill and now Jackie Baillie platformed to lie about NHS Scotland as nearly THREE times as many emergency patients per capita wait 12 hours or more in NHS England than in NHS Scotland

Would this Ayrshire Labour MP prefer her local hospital to have corridor care at the appalling level in England – more than TWICE as high?

Professor John Robertson OBA In the Herald today, undeterred by their embarrassing failure in Research Methods 101, yesterday, is repeating the same claims about corridor care in Scotland but this time, allowing one Labour MP to misrepresent their local hospital. They open with: “Decisive action” is needed at an Ayrshire hospital following revelations that its A&E department exceeded capacity by 50% in December, a local MP has said. Data published by The Herald has revealed that staff at University Hospital Crosshouse in Kilmarnock was forced to care for patients in corridors after running out of A&E beds. So, it’s the same answer as yesterday: There are no 100% … Continue reading Would this Ayrshire Labour MP prefer her local hospital to have corridor care at the appalling level in England – more than TWICE as high?