Tag: scotland

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A Spanish towering inferno, like Grenfell but with far fewer casualties and once more completely unlike Scottish tower block fires safely contained

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Grenfell above in 2017, Valencia below, yesterday: These two towering infernos have some things in common but one big difference – 72 dead in London but only 4 (so far) in Valencia. Why that difference? More escape routes due to better building standards and a better fire service due to the lack of a privatising Conservative Party government, at times, at national and local level in Spain? Other than that key difference, both towers went up in only minutes. Experts say that highly flammable cladding on the … Continue reading A Spanish towering inferno, like Grenfell but with far fewer casualties and once more completely unlike Scottish tower block fires safely contained

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Not one English newspaper today has any story relating to the English NHS on their front pages yet in Scotland….

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ By NMRN Stephen Boyle tweeted this morning this : “Growing demand and increased costs have added to the pressure on Scotland’s NHS. Change is needed. @scotgov needs to develop a clear national strategy to deliver it”. I have highlighted the word “Change” as it is a tad familiar as a word that currently we are all being force fed by a certain political party…….and yes indeed the NHS here is very much one that is over politicised in comparison to the NHS in both England & Wales….where as , in England & … Continue reading Not one English newspaper today has any story relating to the English NHS on their front pages yet in Scotland….

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Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ demand for services – that’s according to the public spending watchdog Audit Scotland. Its annual report on the NHS says increased pressure is directly impacting on patient safety – and the Scottish Government has no overall vision for its future. Here’s the source of the above, on Reporting Scotland this morning: He’s a regular on BBC Scotland to tell you that the Scottish Government isn’t doing or can’t do something and that you’re at risk. He won’t, despite his title, do full research into the context such … Continue reading Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite

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52 days of doctors strikes averted, more than 100 000 appointments and 5 000 lives saved by Humza Yousaf but his removal is what Labour desire most

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Above, the shocking picture of 52 out of the last 365 when doctors were on strike in England. There were no days lost to action in Scotland. According to the Guardian on 10 January, junior doctor strikes caused around 1.3 million appointments to be cancelled. Had there been comparable action in Scotland, around 130 000 appointments would have been lost. According to the Telegraph on 2 January, there were nearly 53 000 excess deaths in 2023 ‘amid’ the strikes across the UK so, had there been strikes … Continue reading 52 days of doctors strikes averted, more than 100 000 appointments and 5 000 lives saved by Humza Yousaf but his removal is what Labour desire most

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Desperation dogs ageing Herald ferry team with three gammons trying to do the work

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ The 39 year-old MV Hebridean Isles saying ‘Ah’ to reveal its rust free doors. Today, the Herald of Free Flotsam and Jetsam has from one of their ferry correspondents: Rust dogs ageing CalMac fleet with two ferries sidelined for 3rd year Oooh, there’ll be some creepy shots of rusty old boats in this, won’t there? Nope. All they have is a shot of the MV Clansman (25) looking great with not a trace of rust and the MV Caledonian Isles (30) with some not-rusty scuffs on the … Continue reading Desperation dogs ageing Herald ferry team with three gammons trying to do the work

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Campaigners say improved social attitudes towards trans people makes it easier for them to come out, only 10 years after SNP legislation

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ identity clinic in Scotland – a fivefold rise since 2018. BBC Scotland News has learned that some are now waiting up to six years for a first appointment. GPs say they’ve been left to care for those on waiting lists with guidelines that are now 12 years old. Reporting Scotland, one again, with a heavy dose of early morning gloom for their ever diminishing audience. The full report on the website does have this key context: Campaigners say the high demand for specialist help is down to … Continue reading Campaigners say improved social attitudes towards trans people makes it easier for them to come out, only 10 years after SNP legislation

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New evidence from Fiona Bruce that waiting lists in England are far far longer than in Scotland

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From Fiona Bruce of BBC News at 6: The BBC has discovered that many NHS patients in England are stuck on waiting lists potentially running into millions. People who are referred to a specialist for treatment for cancer or heart failure for example are no longer counted on the main waiting lists. The Director of Data Analytics at the The Health Foundation then says: It’s very difficult to get an idea of the number…it’s not quite clear which hospital record it and which don’t…but I would guess it’s in the millions! Imagine that was in Scotland? Imagine Jackie Baillie on … Continue reading New evidence from Fiona Bruce that waiting lists in England are far far longer than in Scotland

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Beyond the media circus – evidence the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has on Scotland’s pandemic response and outcomes

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By stewartb – a long read We can only speculate what profile the UK Covid-19 Inquiry will end up giving to different sources of evidence on the Scottish Government’s response to the pandemic. How will the Inquiry weigh what it receives from dispassionate experts in comparison to what is favoured by the politically partisan? Will the Inquiry’s reporting major on WhatsApp messaging and alleged political motivation as its public hearings in Edinburgh appeared to do, at least according to media coverage? Regardless of what emerges, will BBC Scotland still trawl the Inquiry’s findings for that precious phrase which will deliver … Continue reading Beyond the media circus – evidence the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has on Scotland’s pandemic response and outcomes

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BBC Scotland ignore Oxford University expert saying Scotland’s contribution to hosting displaced people is 50% greater than England

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From BBC Scotland today: Home Secretary James Cleverly has urged the Scottish government to use a cruise ship and other large sites to accommodate more asylum seekers. Mr Cleverly said that for dispersal and initial accommodation alone, Scotland houses eight asylum seekers for every 10,000 people. This compares to nine in Wales and 16 in England. This morning, at least 12 hours earlier, on BBC Radio Good Mourning Scotland, we hear from Peter William Walsh of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University: The Home Secretary criticises the Scottish Government for not taking enough asylum seekers. So asylum seekers are those … Continue reading BBC Scotland ignore Oxford University expert saying Scotland’s contribution to hosting displaced people is 50% greater than England

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NHS new building on pause – a trade union convenor is not an ‘independent expert’

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Headlining early today for the Labour Party on Reporting Scotland, we see a Fife Labour councillor condemn one wee GP surgery building, specially chosen for their campaign. On the BBC Scotland website and, no doubt, on longer broadcasts, we read: Independent experts warned it was unlikely NHS Scotland would “survive” without extra funding this year. Basic journalism standards require that both the independent experts and the word ‘survive’ will re-appear in the full text below. Neither do. The only comments are from Donald Campbell, chairman of the Kincardine community council and from Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of BMA Scotland. The word … Continue reading NHS new building on pause – a trade union convenor is not an ‘independent expert’