A&E patient spends 5 days in a chair in a ‘warzone’ hospital but the Welsh Labour Health Secretary is not responsible in any way

Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to my favourite, nearly 100 year-old, paper-based, to your door, Scots Independent newspaper, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ From BBC Wales today: Man spends five days in chairs at ‘warzone’ hospital. A patient who said he was left waiting in a hospital chair for five days has described his “nightmare” experience. Nicky Morgan, 42, went to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, on Saturday night with severe headaches and was told he had a potentially serious condition.But he said he was told there were no beds and has slept on a chair in a … Continue reading A&E patient spends 5 days in a chair in a ‘warzone’ hospital but the Welsh Labour Health Secretary is not responsible in any way

6% Missing council tax payments? Is that a lot? Yeh, but don’t mention it costs less here, OK?

Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to my favourite, nearly 100 year-old, paper-based, to your door, Scots Independent newspaper, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ tax payment last year – that’s according to Citizen’s Advice. A survey by the charity suggests around 6% of people missed a payment at least once in 2023. Reporting Scotland’s opening story, first thing to today, to get you off to a bad start in Scotland. Reporting Scotland editor: 270 000? Nice big number but don’t mention the percentage. Wait, they did. Who put that in? It’s too wee! FFS! Haven’t I told … Continue reading 6% Missing council tax payments? Is that a lot? Yeh, but don’t mention it costs less here, OK?

Shock – Welsh teachers union doesn’t sacrifice its members’ interests to help Labour

This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ By stewartb In TuS yesterday: ‘the EIS union, whose leaders have regularly misrepresented their members interests to help Scottish Labour’ Given the reference to the EIS and given its general negativity towards the Scottish Government, it’s instructive to look at an example of how the equivalent of the EIS in Wales frames its ‘wants’ from the Welsh Government (with my emphasis). From the website of the National Education Union (NEU): ‘The crisis in funding for schools and colleges in Wales. Motion 22 – NEU Cymru members highlight … Continue reading Shock – Welsh teachers union doesn’t sacrifice its members’ interests to help Labour

In Wales mysterious ‘decision-makers’ to blame for care home ‘genocide’

This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ From BBC Wales today: Discharging untested patients to care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic was “a form of genocide”, a front-line doctor has said. Intensive care doctor Laura McClelland said three things still made her angry four years on from the start of the pandemic. She added doctors had little option but to discharge patients as they struggled to “rustle up” carers who were willing to risk their lives for minimum wage jobs. She was speaking ahead of the UK Covid inquiry’s three-week visit to Wales, which … Continue reading In Wales mysterious ‘decision-makers’ to blame for care home ‘genocide’

Teacher staffing in Labour-run Wales a pupil-harming 40% lower than in Scotland as it remains the same here

This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ As the Guardian reports on 14 years of cuts to school budgets, crumbling buildings and a crisis in the funding for staff in England, the Scotsman has a go at including Scotland in this ‘crisis’ with: SNP teacher numbers vow in tatters The claim comes, no surprise, not from an independent research group but from the EIS union, whose leaders have regularly misrepresented their members interests to help Scottish Labour. The EIS leadership and Labour are close. Several, with me, were at Stirling University, thanks to one … Continue reading Teacher staffing in Labour-run Wales a pupil-harming 40% lower than in Scotland as it remains the same here

Only in Scotland – Like his English counterpart the Welsh Auditor General is neither a political stooge nor a media favourite

This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ By cuckooshoe I cannot find any mainstream media reports on this release from Audit Wales published on 20 Feb 2024 https://www.audit.wales/news/firefighting-future-proofing-challenge-welsh-public-services ‘The Auditor General for Wales has called for a bold vision for public services in Wales if it is to shift from a spiral of short-term firefighting to future proofing and long-term sustainability. In the context of the Welsh Government’s draft budget for 2024-25, the Auditor General identifies themes that the work of Audit Wales suggests would help public organisations achieve more value from the money … Continue reading Only in Scotland – Like his English counterpart the Welsh Auditor General is neither a political stooge nor a media favourite

Juryless rape trials already take place in England and Wales – somebody tell the Scottish media and defence lawyers?

In 2020 rape prosecutions were more common in Scotland than in England, by 13% to 1.6% despite reports of rape being more than twice as high in England. I’m not, this time, going to make much of that because the 13% level of prosecutions seems lower than it should be and the Scottish Government’s plans to pilot juryless trials is a very sensible thing to try out. Since May 2023, the UK media in Scotland have pounced on the objections of some defence lawyers (What else would a defence lawyer do?) with a view to irresponsibly blocking another progressive SNP … Continue reading Juryless rape trials already take place in England and Wales – somebody tell the Scottish media and defence lawyers?

Covid deaths – BBC Scotland lie to conceal Scotland’s better outcomes and UK Government’s under-reporting

In a report on the BBC Scotland website today, with a carefully chosen image to connect Covid outcomes to the SNP leader at the time, this: The impact on Scotland In Scotland to date, more than 18,000 people have died with Covid and ONS (Office for National Statistics ) analysis suggests death rates were very similar in Scotland and England and slightly better in Wales and Northern Ireland. The question the UK Covid inquiry will ask is did the different decisions in Scotland have any real impact on the virus, for better or worse? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67985184 This is patently inaccurate and … Continue reading Covid deaths – BBC Scotland lie to conceal Scotland’s better outcomes and UK Government’s under-reporting

Associating all problems with the SNP in government – Reporting Scotland’s subtle [not so] agenda on obesity

This morning in a short teaser for their pals at Disclosure Scotland who will be, later tonight, doing a special on obesity, Reporting Scotland find time for the above little bookend comment implying responsibility. In the longer online report, there is no mention of the Scottish Government. Regardless of whether it is conscious propaganda or a subconscious tendency, the longer term impact on viewers is the association of the Scottish Government with another problem that they are not directly responsible for and an association of a kind which BBC England, Wales and Northern Ireland rarely make with their governments. A … Continue reading Associating all problems with the SNP in government – Reporting Scotland’s subtle [not so] agenda on obesity

Why is reporting of far fewer deaths by stabbing in Scotland not in the public interest when reporting higher drug deaths is?

The tragic news of another death by stabbing of a 16 year-old in London on New Year’s Eve is not being reported comparatively in the way that drug deaths are. Regardless of falling drug deaths in Scotland, Scottish and UK media and opposition politicians continue to feast greedily on comparisons with the rest of the UK or Europe. In the last few months: Drug-related deaths in Scotland lie squarely at the feet of Nicola Sturgeon Labour List Scotland drug deaths decrease – but rate still higher than rest of Europe Sky News Scottish Labour demands SNP take action on drug … Continue reading Why is reporting of far fewer deaths by stabbing in Scotland not in the public interest when reporting higher drug deaths is?