Tag: scotland

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Scotland’s corridor care scare survey may be based on vanishingly small sample

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By stewartb The RCN is not a small, not a new, inexperienced organisation. Far from it! It has a long track record of advocacy on behalf of the nursing profession. Its continuing use of the name – the Royal College of Nursing – seems like an attempt to raise its status with the public as something other than ‘just’ a trade union. The document that is the subject of the main blog post is loftily described by the RCN as a ‘Policy Report’. It has been relatively well resourced: it has two authors plus no less than 15 other named … Continue reading Scotland’s corridor care scare survey may be based on vanishingly small sample

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10 000 NHS care appointments saved in days before election by Matheson’s efforts

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By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today: Up to 100,000 patients in England face having their NHS care cancelled days before the general election after junior doctors announced a fresh wave of strike action, with Rishi Sunak saying it appeared to be politically motivated. Health leaders expressed alarm, warning the five-day strike would jeopardise efforts to tackle the record waiting list and “hit patients hard”. That means around 10 000 appointments have been saved from cancellation in Scotland. Why? Junior doctors have never withdrawn their labour in Scotland. Why is that? Junior doctors in Scotland have accepted a pay offer that includes a commitment … Continue reading 10 000 NHS care appointments saved in days before election by Matheson’s efforts

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NHS Scotland’s ‘hugely better’ performance that the Royal College prefers to obscure

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By stewartb The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) is a persistent and highly critical commentator on the responses of UK and devolved governments to the waiting times and capacity challenges facing NHS Emergency Departments in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For background, it is my contention – and I’d argue, provable by analysis of the RCEM’s past monthly press statements that following the release of performance data for the NHS in each of the four nations – that the RCEM (i) fails to acknowledge the relatively better performance of NHS Scotland; and (ii) adopts a tone in its … Continue reading NHS Scotland’s ‘hugely better’ performance that the Royal College prefers to obscure

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Imbalanced Reporting of Scotland to undermine the SNP

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Health Secretary Michael Matheson….. On Reporting Scotland’s short broadcast at 1.30 today, both political stories, SNP bad. 2 min 30 on the above topic, then straight onto a report on smart meters. Then at 4 min 47 sec in: to dual the A9 by 2025. 20 sec on that. Then should mobile phones be banned in School? Nothing on Ian Murray’s AirBNB income, Reform MP, Lee Anderson’s suggestion of sending refugees to the Western Isles, or the Scottish Tories being forced to drop their opposition to abortion buffer zones. This is all-too-typical. From 2nd June 2023 New Research finds BBC Scotland … Continue reading Imbalanced Reporting of Scotland to undermine the SNP

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Ferrymageddon as US travellers face four years or more of delays due to aging ferries

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By Professor John Robertson Today, in the Seattle Times: Washington ferry riders face a month of longer wait times as the 144-vehicle Suquamish ferry undergoes routine maintenance. Brought into service in 2018, Suquamish is the youngest ferry in WSF. With an average ferry age of 32, the system faces $270 million in deferred maintenance. Although the system needs 26 boats to run at full service, it currently has 21 ferries, so it’s on a reduced schedule for at least the next four years.  The average age of a CalMac ferry is 24. On May 3, we could also report: Washington State Ferries in … Continue reading Ferrymageddon as US travellers face four years or more of delays due to aging ferries

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Expert says Labour’s pledge to restore 18-week waits for life-threatening conditions in five years IS feasible even though they’re miles behind Scotland with only one fourteenth of the waiting list pro rata

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By Professor John Robertson Contrary to the BBC Scotland reporting, the 18 week target for life-threatening conditions is more important than the 2 year target for non-life-threatening, admittedly demoralising hip and knee surgery, on which we apparently do worse than NHS England after massive UK Government investment in private treatment for political ends. According to Rob Findlay of the Health Service Journal last June: The biggest task will be keeping up with demand. Beyond that, restoring 18 weeks in one term looks feasible. Unless he quickly u-turns again on this one, Starmer faces a big challenge to even catch NHS … Continue reading Expert says Labour’s pledge to restore 18-week waits for life-threatening conditions in five years IS feasible even though they’re miles behind Scotland with only one fourteenth of the waiting list pro rata

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Second New Zealand ferry loses power and drifts

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From RNZ yesterday: A Bluebridge ferry passenger says people were plunged into darkness when a ship briefly lost power coming into Wellington Harbour on Saturday afternoon. Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the ferry had a problem on board which caused it to lose power about 4.45pm. “They passed that on, assistance was called, there was a tug heading out towards them. They actually resolved it themselves, got power on, carried on up towards the berth and used the tug as a precaution getting into the berth,” he said. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/517826/bluebridge-ferry-loses-power-while-entering-wellington-harbour From Maritime Executive in January 2024: New Zealand Prosecutes RoRo Operator … Continue reading Second New Zealand ferry loses power and drifts

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At least SEVEN long years later Anas Sarwar’s multi-million family firm is forced to stop paying poverty wages….maybe….says unnamed union rep…just in time before the election

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Picture: John Devlin Today, BBC Scotland are headlining a story that a Usdaw (who?) union rep says Anas Sarwar’s family business are now paying the living wage. The rep is clearly camera shy. Might the workers be unhappy with the claim? BBC Scotland attempt to cover up the fact that Sarwar’s wife and kids get dividends and have been for years on the back of low-page workers. In September 2017, I wrote: Anas Sarwar is a shareholder in United Wholesale (Scotland) Ltd which is currently advertising jobs at £7.50 an hour rather than the £8.45 ‘real’ living wage and far … Continue reading At least SEVEN long years later Anas Sarwar’s multi-million family firm is forced to stop paying poverty wages….maybe….says unnamed union rep…just in time before the election

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Police Scotland less likely to stop and search children and minorities

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this> By Professor John Robertson The Guardian today has the above and: Hundreds of children under 10 faced stop and search by police last year, including some who were strip-searched, the Observer can reveal. At least 432 children under the age of criminal responsibility were searched by the police forces in England and Wales in 2023, according to data.police.uk, an official site for open data on crime and policing. Nearly a quarter of all the searches were conducted on those from black, Asian, or other minority ethnic backgrounds – disproportionately high compared with population representation. First, putting the … Continue reading Police Scotland less likely to stop and search children and minorities

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Labour rub salt on the wound that they are gleefully creating……..

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By NMRN Labour rub salt on the wound that they are gleefully creating…….. Reported today that “Labour are demanding that the SNP and other ‘smaller’ parties are cut from televised leadership debates during the General Election campaign, according to reports. Broadcasters are reportedly focusing on two head-to-head contests between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer before July 4″…… SNP one of the “smaller parties” ??……however in Scotland the Labour party have only two elected MP’s and they are the third party at Holyrood and so here in Scotland they, Labour, are one of “the smaller parties”…..while the SNP are the majority as in the largest party in Holyrood and so currently are the Scottish government……they also have the most elected MP’s in Scotland who sit in … Continue reading Labour rub salt on the wound that they are gleefully creating……..