(c) age scotland
In 2016/17 there were 532,423 bed days occupied by people delayed in their discharge.
In NHS Scotland. Roughly 1 in 12 or 8.2% of beds were occupied by mostly those over 70 years of age awaiting care in the community or at home arrangements to be made.
This is a fall of 3% from the 2015/16 figure and the most recent figure for October 2017 was 10% lower than in October 2016.
Rather than report the above the Scotsman used a Labour freedom of information request to report:
‘Figures show SNP pledge to end bed blocking in tatters. More than 1,000 Scots patients have died while waiting to be released from hospital since the SNP pledged to end bed blocking, new figures show.’
Would the Scotsman prefer that these patients were turfed-out to die, perhaps even quicker, in their empty homes, in their children’s living rooms or jammed into overcrowded old folks’ homes?
Leaving aside the tabloid style, this is another example of the way the Scottish mainstream media operates largely as an uncritical (dirty) mouthpiece for the three main opposition parties.
A brilliant, devastating, account of this, leaving the reputation of them all in tatters can be found at Derek Bateman’s excellent blog. He begins:
‘The media has been positively bursting with bad news stories about the SNP government over the holiday period. Expose after expose has covered the front pages and filled the bulletins with a wearying persistence. You’d think the country was going to the dogs what with single-staffed ambulances, Scots missing out on tax credits and violence against shop workers on the rise – stories often based on Freedom of Information Requests and always contriving to make the SNP the culprit.
What has been striking is the repetitive nature of the day-by-day shock horror output, all written with similar phrases and all with the same simple narrative of SNP bad.
You’d almost think it was planned. Well, it was.
The Labour Party has been doing the media’s job for it by spending the summer preparing a long list of negative news stories to feed out daily to the journalists. In keeping with the cosy friendship they enjoy, it is called the ‘Scottish Labour Christmas Box – Stories for the many, not the few.’ Ha, ha. Merry Christmas, comrades.’
http://derekbateman.scot/2018/01/05/manipulating-the-media/
See also:
http://derekbateman.scot/2018/01/07/done-up-like-a-kipper/
Everyone should read and share these.
Talking-up Scotland 
Reblogged this on scottishactivist0.
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Thanks
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Every share has the potential to turn one or two No’s into Yes’s – water on stone.
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Sadly, these mendacious reports impact on people’s opinions. Yesterday I had to go to the MIU at Glasgow Royal infirmary after cutting myself (mea culpa) and being unable to stop the bleeding. I was triaged within 5 minutes, called in for treatment after 45 minutes and discharged after three hours. After the bleeding had been stopped I had to wait for half and hour to check that it had worked. There was also a delay because a patient in a neighbouring booth collapsed and had to be resuscitated – she had been receiving attention when she passed out.
I took a taxi home and the driver asked ‘How bad was the wait?’. When I said I had been in and out in 3 hours – on a Saturday evening in Glasgow A&E hospital – he replied, “You were lucky. According to reports, its chaos in there.” My statement to the contrary was treated with a sceptical smile.
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Thanks for this. Hope you are well.
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Hi Alasdair – you don’t have to spill blood for Indy – just make sure everyone you know and love puts their ‘x’ in the correct box in the polling booth come Indyref 2! – Hope your hand is feeling a bit better today.
Noticed that SNP MSP Tom Arthur has himself been using FOI requests to uncover info regarding the subsidised food+drink in the Lords (Well done,Tom, for turning the tables somewhat). Below is a short digest from the piece carried in The National:
PEERS have been accused of “lording it up” after it was revealed more than 2000 traditional afternoon teas were purchased at the House of Lords last year.
Lords tucked into a host of taxpayer-subsidised treats including Indian tea, scones with jam and cream and assorted cakes and pastries.
It comes after figures showed more than £70,000 was splashed on booze at the upper house in the run-up to Christmas 2016.
SNP MSP Tom Arthur said it was clear “the only thing these unelected peers are interested in doing is lording it up in the heavily subsidised Westminster bars and restaurants”.
He added: “Rather than actually doing any work on their visits to the office, they treat themselves to afternoon teas and bottles of champagne in a lifestyle that most people could only dream of. And it is all being done at our expense, with the subsidy last year totalling £1.2 million.
Figures released to Mr Arthur under Freedom of Information laws show 259 bottles of House of Lords Champagne NV were purchased in its bars and restaurants last year.
Not only £300 a day exes – but subsidised Champers too. Oh goody, goody for all those troughing Peers of the Realm – an interesting Westminster variation on the Foodbank principle I suppose?
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ICYMI , GP Workforce for 2017 is available on isdscotland.org
According to BBC blurb about the new series about Elgin Medical Practice -The Family Doctors on BBC2 11/01/18 at 21.00 – “…….and , across Scotland ,
there is a recruitment crisis ” !
GP Workforce & Practice Populations – Introduction
Latest Publications
Published: 12 December 2017
General Practice – GP workforce and practice list sizes
Publication Summary Download pdf file [221kb]
Full Report Download pdf file [543kb]
See all General Practice publications
ISD holds a range of data relating to general practices in Scotland. The main areas about which we hold and publish information are:
Information about the GP workforce and other practice staff – including the numbers of GPs (family doctors), practice nurses and other staff in post;
Information about (GP surgeries and the numbers of patients that they serve (their list sizes)Download Excel file [126Kb].
One feature of the GP Workforce information is that as each year is added to the publication, data from the previous year is also updated which means the accuracy of the data is continually improving. These changes are generally quite small but numbers from previous years will change over time. Our FAQs explain more.
Latest news
December 2016 – We have published GP Workforce & Practice populations data, which includes the headcount of GPs contracted to work in Scottish practices, information on the number of GP practices in Scotland and details of their practice populations. Reference information is also available on deprivation and urban/rural status of practice populations.
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Thanks Anne
Will check out
John
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Thanks John,I read Derek’s blog and came away with the impression that he is angered and surprised by the lack of integrity within his own profession, something of a road to Damascus moment.
Interesting to see the Establishment propaganda arm showing its’ growing desperation in being exposed by increasing pressure from the competence of the SNP and their own bumbling.
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Thanks Mac
Yes, Damascus; When Derek interviewed me in 2014, he seemed less sure than he is now.
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The Sunday Herald ran the same piece.
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They’re better together?
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Note Dr Philippa Whitford’s tweet yesterday –
” Note a Newsreader talks of A&E target as patients ‘ waiting 4 hours waiting to be SEEN ‘ !
Nope , it is to be
Registered ,
Triaged ,
SEEN by Dr ,
Investigated (x-ray , bloods etc)
Diagnosed and either treated (stookay etc) & discharged or admitted to ward .
That all has to be achieved in 4 hrs ! “
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