Loopholes, NHS waiting times and BBC Scotland

General

Tuesday, 22 January 2013 00:09

By G.A.Ponsonby

On Monday evening on Reporting Scotland BBC Scotland’s Health Correspondent Eleanor Bradford claimed she had found “further evidence” of “loopholes” in the Scottish government’s waiting times policy.

Anyone who has followed Ms Bradford on her quest to ‘expose’ a waiting time scandal that, on the evidence presented thus far doesn’t really exist, will by now be wondering what is going on.

The well documented waiting list manipulation at NHS Lothian was indeed a scandal.

It resulted in an investigation being ordered by then Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon which found serious problems with the management structure. Her replacement Alex Neil ordered the management to supply officials with full minutes, agendas and background briefing papers from private board meetings dating back to 2010.

A national investigation uncovered one other episode at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee which resulted in two managers being suspended for allegedly “massaging” figures. Audit Scotland found discrepancies after spending weeks examining the Hospital's records.

The second episode was leapt on, not surprisingly by Scottish Labour, who began to imply that the manipulation was not restricted to NHS Lothian and Dundee. Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “This is the beginning of a national scandal of health boards fiddling waiting times.”

However, despite repeated claims, no such evidence of a national scandal emerged.

Faced with a paucity of evidence as we entered 2013, Eleanor Bradford decided to investigate, we can surmise in the expectation of uncovering this hidden evidence of a national scandal.

The first fruits of Ms Bradford’s labour involved a flooded scanner at Woolmanhill Hospital in Grampian.

In an article published on January 12th, Ms Bradford claimed that “As many as 3,500 people at risk of bone fractures are waiting eight months for a scan to detect osteoporosis at a clinic in Aberdeen.”

However, Newsnet Scotland has discovered the statement was inaccurate – the 3,500 figure was the number of patients treated by the centre in a year and not the number who were affected by the 32 week delay.

Indeed, the situation was hardly a secret having been published on NHS Grampian’s own website since October 3rd 2011 – fully 15 months before the BBC Scotland reporter revealed the ‘scandal’.

NHS Grampian put out a detailed statement following the BBC report which refuted all of the allegations made by Eleanor Bradford in no uncertain terms.

It has subsequently emerged that, far from 3,500 people having been affected by the scanner problem at NHS Grampian as claimed by BBC Scotland, the real figure was closer to one hundred. An audit report, given a passing mention in the BBC article, found that NHS Grampian was fully compliant with the waiting list guidelines and that there were only a few technical problems which have since been addressed to the extent which they can be under the constraints of their IT systems.

That this story was published at all begs the question as to why? A clue can perhaps be found when one examines the change in strategy by Scottish Labour.

The last two First Minister’s Questions has witnessed Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont targeting Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Ms Sturgeon, recognised as the best Health Minister Holyrood has ever seen, has faced claims that she has in fact presided over several hidden scandals – the most high profile being waiting times.

That BBC Scotland has adopted a similar approach to its coverage of the Scottish NHS is no mere coincidence.

Eleanor Bradford has now turned away from the official waiting list targets and onto those areas not covered by the Scottish government guarantees. Not surprisingly, in those areas with no waiting time guarantees Ms Bradford has found people who have waited lengthy periods.

Last week we heard that women with breast cancer had waiting time guarantees in the period prior to surgery. Thereafter the decision on radiotherapy was taken by GPs, with no guarantee on waiting times. There is in fact no definitive medical evidence to suggest that a delay in radiotherapy treatment after surgery hampers recovery.

A plea, made by Ms Bradford for people to contact her directly has led to anecdotal evidence being used in order to suggest ‘loopholes’ in the Scottish government’s waiting times policy.

Thus, viewers are now being bombarded by claims of hitherto unknown ‘loopholes’ through which unfortunate patients are falling. Some of the unsubstantiated anecdotal 'evidence' published by BBC Scotland online beggars belief as can be seen below:

One woman told us the anxiety of waiting so long caused her to have "a bit of a breakdown".

A man told BBC Scotland he was told he would have to wait six and a half months for a knee replacement in Aberdeen unless he was prepared to travel to Glasgow.

One man who contacted the BBC said: "I am horrified that these people, both politicians and NHS managers are prepared to play these tricks with waiting times when peoples lives are quite literally on the line."

But this sort of journalistic claptrap is effective. The ‘loophole’ soundbite has been repeated by several newsreaders across BBC Scotland’s broadcast spectrum - its use has also been challenged by the Scottish government.

The result of course will be to plant the suggestion in the minds of the public that the Scottish government’s waiting times targets are a fraud. This will be used by Labour and other Unionist parties as ‘evidence’ that Nicola Sturgeon’s tenure as Health Minister was scandal ridden and now only being exposed by diligent investigative reporting.

The Scottish government has repeatedly explained that the areas, described by Bradford as a “loophole”, have never been part of the waiting time policy. However this will have little effect – the subliminal message will be absorbed by the unfortunate Scottish public.

Loopholes exist everywhere, they are used by lawyers who exploit weak laws and accountants who exploit equally poorly drafted tax regulations. To suggest that the Scottish government has somehow drafted policies designed to mislead and hoodwink patients is beneath contempt.

If BBC Scotland really wants to know what a loophole is, then perhaps some investigation into the half million pound payoff to an ex-charity boss, sanctioned by three Glasgow Labour councillors, might be a start.

Sadly, there appears little appetite to apply even a fraction of the scrutiny that has been applied to waiting times, to Glasgow Council which is currently beset with scandals and U turns.

Comments

# Grenscot 2013-01-22 01:49

Johann Lamont is not the only one who targeted Nicola Sturgeon last week. In member's questions prior to FMQs last Thursday, Jackie Bailie also asked a question of Alex Neil on the use of Unavailability Codes. In her response to Alex Neil she threw out the line "This week it was NHS Grampian in the waiting times scandal...." I loved Alex Neil's response "There is no scandal in relation to NHS Grampian other than in the head of Jackie Bailie" He then went on, as Alex Salmond did later, to detail the points set out in the article. Labour's strategy to discredit Nicola Sturgeon is patently obvious.

# Yesitis 2013-01-22 02:13

BBC Reporting Scotland are actively campaigning against the Scottish government on behalf of the unionist Labour Party in Scotland. They are not even trying to hide, or disguise it anymore.

There is nothing we can do about it. It is sickening.

# Ben Power 2013-01-22 10:55

Is there nothing we can do? Well we could all start asking questions about the funding of Labour party.
If it shows that private health insurance funds and supporters of public/private partnerships are contributors now or planning to be in the future it could bring the truth out.
Journalists have to survive on their ability to socialise and communicate with people with power , influence or information. Sometimes the information they write from is less than accurate and deliberately persuasively misleading to get the journo to support a view beneficial to the supplier of the information.
We should be asking questions about the sources of influence behind the story and keep asking those questions until we get the truth.

# Grenscot 2013-01-22 02:22

Eleanor Bradford's claim that 3,500 people were on the waiting list in Grampian has now been reduced to 550 in an article yesterday tinyurl.com/b6dhdrs "BBC Scotland has learned that hundreds of patients are not being treated within the Scottish government's 18-week guarantee.
Up to 550 people are waiting eight months for a scan to detect osteoporosis at a clinic in Aberdeen." She neglects to mention, although it is spelled out lower down in the guidelines that the 18 week guarantee only applies to Consultant led patients. According to NHS Grampian in their January 17th statement that brings the number down to about 100. Perhaps Eleanor Bradford will finally get it right in her next article.
In the interests of balance, after all this is what the BBC is all about, perhaps Eleanor Bradford should invite all of those who have received their treatment within the waiting time guidelines to contact her.

# oldnat 2013-01-22 03:03

I'd be delighted if patients in Scotland had zero waiting time between reference and treatment - wouldn't we all?

Mind you, we might renegue on that wish if there had to be savage cuts in other services as a consequence.

I like investigative journalism c/f Scottish Review which exposes bad administration - regardless of political control.

I despise politically motivated nonsense.

# Leader of the Pack 2013-01-22 08:26

If there was a legitimate scandal and failure of policy then there wouldnt have been a need to deliberately lie misinform nor exaggerate the issue in the blatent way they did. This is clearly not a case of a Government being held to account but a deliberate use of a state broadcaster being manipulated by the UK state to misinform the people of Scotland once again on party political grounds. This isnt shoddy reporting its deliberate lying and the spreading of disinformation by a state broadcaster. Its transparent despotism at a level which would have shocked people living under the old Soviet regime.

# redcliffe62 2013-01-22 03:04

Has Eleanor Bradford any previous political affiliation or is she following editorial guidelines?

# tarbat 2013-01-22 17:51

Quoting redcliffe62:

Has Eleanor Bradford any previous political affiliation or is she following editorial guidelines?

For me this is a key issue when it comes to the reporters at the BBC. I would imagine that most people in Scotland have a view on independence, so I would guess that Eleanor Bradford probably also has a view on it. Maybe her English & Welsh past and connections suggest where her loyalties lie? Or maybe she's so desperate to keep her reporting job at the BBC that she'll do anything to "sell" a "shock/horror" story to her bosses.

Isn't it about time that all reporters declared there interests in the independence debate?

# sneckedagain 2013-01-22 03:26

The lassie can be contacted directly at
eleanor.bradford

bbc.co.uk

Her inbox should be buzzing tomorrow surely.

[Admin - It is usually policy not to allow email addresses to be published. However given that Ms Bradford has already given her email address out on air, then this post is allowed.]

# WRH2 2013-01-22 03:45

Eleanor Bradford is described as a BBC Health Correspondent and since this is her area of expertise, I would have thought she would have been familiar with the waiting times rules.. Reporting nonsense like this is amateurish in the extreme. Just how much is she being paid to churn out such inaccurate stuff?
Perhaps I should contact her and tell her about my experience four years ago. It took less than 4 weeks from seeing my GP to having a minor procedure carried out and it wasn't for an urgent life threatening problem either. Do you think she would be interested in reporting that bit of good news?

# Jo Bloggs 2013-01-22 10:41

I live abroad. Twice in recent years while on holiday in Scotland I've had occasion to turn to NHS24 to seek help for my family. The response both times was magnificent: access to a doctor within one hour, immediate diagnosis and prescription, drugs duly collected, and all for the cost of getting to the hospital to see the doctor and then from there to the chemist's. No other charges. The first time the hospital was in Glsgow (Drumchapel), the second time in Inverness (Raigmore).

Scotland's NHS is wonderful nowadays. What a contrast to the past, under the so-called Labour Party.

# oldnat 2013-01-22 04:13

There is nothing wrong with the media holding our Government to account. It's a good thing.

If governments can't achieve what they set out to do (and they often can't) then criticism is legitimate.

If they don't do what they never said they would, and other parties didn't either, then it's also legitimate to raise the issue to ask every party how they would transfer resources (if at all) to meet that need - and who would suffer as a consequence.

Partial journalism is not acceptable - regardless of which party seeks benefit from it.

# Jim Johnston 2013-01-22 08:04

The point is, as always, the BBC has knowingly injected the poison. Proof that they are lying through their teeth will not be covered, so the public again fall victim to propaganda.

When the BBC and MSM are caught in the "big lie" as referred to by Hitler, they simply deflect the story down a dead end. Both the Saville and Leveson inquiries are treated by the BBC and MSM as master classes in kicking their crimes against decency right over the stand in mumbojumbo ducking and diving reports. Thereby deflecting attention from their own vomit.

All any individual can and should do against such relentlessly poisonous propaganda, is don't pay the BBC or any newspaper for their tripe. Simple solutions are always the best and most effective treatments.

# gfaetheblock 2013-01-22 08:27

There is a public persception issue her, as the public do not realise that there are all these exclusions to guaranteed treatment times. If you are ill and waiting for treatment, you don't care if your treatment is covered by the policy or not.

Incentives shape behaviours, and if you drive health care provides to hit targets on some treatments and not all, then you may have a negative impact on those not covered by the target.

# clootie 2013-01-22 14:44

Gfaetheblock

It's not about incentives - with limited finance and resources you have to prioritise. The best example is simple triage during an emergency - the noisy casualty is unlikely to be your top priority.

We didn't have any measures in the past. The choice is to improve the visibility or return to labour hidden lists. The BBC didn't do much digging during the Labour/LibDem years!

# Alibi 2013-01-22 08:48

Regarding impartial reporting, Gordon Mathieson was on the news last night being interviewed about the decision to abandon the George Square redevelopment. I would have thought that that would have been a very good opportunity to ask him if he was going to resign following his recent sordid escapade, but no, not even mentioned. How the man has the effrontery to carry on in his position as council leader as if nothing has happened is beyond credulity; how the BBC can just go along with ignoring the elephant in the room is even more scandalous.

# Davy 2013-01-22 08:52

Liars, bloody liars and the BBC.

# Macart 2013-01-22 09:26

State broadcaster - and what a state it's in. So basically these loopholes were what? The mistreatment of patients, mis diagnosis, needless deaths, doctors malpractice, budget overspend, mis appropriation of funds, what??? Some hospital managers massaged figures to meet government requirements, there have been investigations, they've been found out and punished. There are always going to be waiting lists and there are always going to be those deeply unhappy at having to wait for much needed treatments. This makes for an easy political target.

However, compare and contrast who do we trust to run the NHS in Scotland? Certainly not the consecutive Labour administrations who turned it into the laughing stock of Europe. Certainly not Jackie Baillie whose name is synonymous with, shall we say, exaggeration?

# MAcandroid 2013-01-22 20:55

Jackie Baillie - the home of the over inflated figure !

# mealer 2013-01-22 09:28

I will be e-mailing NHS Grampian to thank them for the excellent work they do.Theyve all worked very hard to minimise the effects of the flooding incident,which put a great strain on their resources.

# indy2014 2013-01-22 09:44

There is no BBC Scotland, no Scottish Daily Record, Scottish Sun.......
Do you think BBC Yorkshire would fight Yorkshire's corner if it was against the wishes of BBC London??
There is no BBC Scotland, only a BBC presence in Scotland.
In 80 years has the BBC ever stated anything positive about Scotland??? I'm surprised we get any tourists, when the BBC sells blustery, rainy Scotland throughout the world.
Even James Watt is being protrayed as an inexperienced dreamer who was lucky to have his vision realised by English engineers. This despite scientists voting him the one person who changed the course of human civilisation!! Electricity is measured in Watt's because of him!
No Scottish labour, conseratives....It is London labour in Scotland and should be branded a such.
ALL have proven that they are only good at talking Scotland into the gutter with their ANTI-SCOTTISH retoric!!!!

# ButeHouse 2013-01-22 16:49

Excellent Excellent Excellent Indy 2014.

I banged on about unfair weather forecasts for months in the Scotsman and was generally berated for it by unionists, shame the paper never had its 'rating' system then, I'm sure I would have had massive support.

People don't seem to realise the importance of the weather forecast to the Psychology of the local population and Tourism from other parts of the UK and the world.

I mean, when do you ever see a huge -10 or even -15 on the UK weather map in the middle of Dartmoor or the Yorkshire Moors? Yet we see that at every opportunity in our Glens even by so called Scottish weather people.

Everything is down to image these days - more so than ever. The English establishment knows the value of creating the right image and they use the BBC to help them do it.

VOTE YES Next Year

# RTP 2013-01-22 10:09

"George Square plans axed"

I can't see anything in the BBC website about this,oh I forgot it has something to do with a Labour run council and there leader.

Come on BBC this must be worth a mention.

# clootie 2013-01-22 10:28

Another complaint on bias sent off to the BBC. I don't expect a sensible response but I'm going to keep the complaints logged.

The BBC now prepare the speech for Johann's Thursday rant - it must be true if the BBC have reported it.

The BBC article could have argued on how we define the waiting list which would have been acceptable. They could also have reported that we had zero controls pre SNP government which would have been honest.

# rob4i 2013-01-22 10:35

The democratic deficit within Scotland is an absolute scandal and the people of Scotland must, en masse be made aware of this if they don't already know.

we understand that independence goes against everything Unionists stand for, eg: self serving greed, ie: status quo! and is why they are now running very scared indeed.

# Training Day 2013-01-22 11:33

It would be very interesting if NNS could conduct some form of audit on how often the BBC roll the pitch on a negative story about the SG on a Wednesday and, hey presto, Lamont's script writer Mr Sinclair has, as if by magic, appropriated that report and turned it into Lamont's question at FMQs on a Thursday.

As a for instance, Ms Bradford appeared on Radio Scotland last Wednesday morning, and, with curious gusto, informed listeners that 'the SG has been REPEATEDLY (her emphasis) criticised over waiting times'. Lamont asked a question on this subject the next day.

An audit would demonstrate just how far BBC Scotland and Labour are acting in concert.

# Hwanofbute 2013-01-22 11:45

Just sent this to Eleanor Bradford on the subject of NHS waiting times. I wonder if she'll use it? I won't hold my breath.............

How about this for a story Ms Bradford?

I have had chronic back pain for several years and eventually decided to see a doctor last week, Monday 14th January 2013.

Appointment time: 9.40am. Outcome; refer for X ray and physiotherapy (and drugs.....on a free prescription).

X Ray completed by 10.30 the same morning.

First appointment at physiotherapy 4.00 that afternoon.

I do hope you will consider these sorts of stories in your journalistic endeavours on the NHS in Scotland.

# ButeHouse 2013-01-22 18:41

Just the ticket Hwanofbute. The SNP Government has worked wonders for the People of Scotland since coming to power in 2007.

Nicola Sturgeon in particular has had tremendous success in improving the Health Service in Scotland but still we are treated to an almost daily gripe from the unionist mouth-peice aka the BBC.

Frankly it's just not good enough constantly talking Scotland down to suit unionist parties not to mention Westminster.

With Ms Bradford being English she needs to guard against her actions as being misinterpreted.

VOTE YES Next Year

# The Laird 2013-01-22 11:55

"The Scottish government has repeatedly explained that the areas, described by Bradford as a “loophole”, have never been part of the waiting time policy. However this will have little effect – the subliminal message will be absorbed by the unfortunate Scottish public." Unfortuately, the Scottish public (or at least those who don't read this excellent website) are as gullible as they come. I too listened to the piece from Ms Bradford with growing amazement at how something that doesn't exist was reported as fact. Incredible, in the true sense of the word.

# Dundonian West 2013-01-22 12:01

British Broadcasting Corporation operating in Scotland.
It has an agenda----it's in the name.

Eleanor Bradford's report was delivered as FACT------it patently is not.
"Journalistic claptrap" indeed.

Thanks for putting the record straight newsnetscotland .
Donation on the way.

# ScotFree1320 2013-01-22 12:06

Sometimes it's essential to have waiting time between a cancer treatment and radiotherapy. A relative of mine would have been too weak to have radiotherapy treatment immediately after their bowel cancer operation. It's a harsh treatment at the best of times and if given too early could make a bad situation much, much worse.

# proudscot 2013-01-22 12:12

Good point, Training Day. However I liked the FM's witty response to Lamont's NHS Grampian claim, that of course under her watch, if she were FM, there would be no flooding in Scotland!

Seriously, I have noticed Lamont's attempts to attack and denigrate Nicola Sturgeon over the last two FMQs. It only serves to show how much Labour fear her as a talented and very able political opponent.

# admiral 2013-01-22 14:08

Smear Nicola and, by implication and sublimination, the Yes campaign and the case for Scottish independence.

But then again, is anyone surprised at the tactics of the unionist parties in seking to denigrate anything and everything Scottish? It's not as if it's a new phenomenon.

Do you know, even if I believed the wee, poor, stupid rubbish, I still would vote Yes? Because what the Unionist parties are selling us as their vision of the future for Scotland is an affront to modern democracy.

Effectively, they are saying "You, as a nation, are too wee, too poor, too stupid to run yourselves. Vote for us and we'll make sure it stays that way."

# Aplinal 2013-01-22 14:28

The point of the attack by Labour is as admiral indicates. They have belatedly realised that AS is not the YES campaign, and they dare no try to smear Blair Jenkins or his team. Nicola become the focus for no other reason than to try and create doubts in the minds of the Scots voters. The BBC is a disgrace by any standards of impartiality.

I wrote many weeks ago to media lens about their bias hoping they would take up the case and did not even get the courtesy of a reply.

It seems we will need to have al Jezera or RT TV before anything changes.

A pure unmitigated sham!

# X_Sticks 2013-01-22 18:09

Aplinal,

Ian Davidson - chairchube of the denigrate scotland committee in westminster was trying VERY hard to conflate Blair Jenkins name with the SNP during the Section 30 debate. According to "Doin'" Davidson Blair is just Alex Salmond's puppet.

# BillCo 2013-01-22 12:25

Eleanor Bradford has been banging on about this for almost a week now. This unsubstantiated , unbalanced, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story brand of reporting, which is the stock-in-trade of what passes for journalism at Pacific Key, is poisoning our democracy.

It would appear that BBC Scotland is carrying out a research role to provide ammunition for the opposition parties to fire off in their orchestrated campaign to discredit Nicola Sturgeon. Cue Lamont's line of questioning at FMQ's on Thursday.

# Ananurhing 2013-01-22 12:37

I remember last year, Des Browne boasting to the assembled members of the ermine vermin fetish club, of his furtive "conversations with various Scottish broadcasters, who shall remain nameless." What irks me is how some at BBC Scotland are so eager to comply.

I have no problem with BBC Scotland holding the Scottish government to account, governments are there to be shot at. However their blatant agenda to manipulate and interfere in the constitutional debate is unforgivable, and tantamount to a seditious attempt to undermine the authority of a sovereign nation.

John Pilger described the function of the BBC as "State ventriloquism."

# Independista 2013-01-22 14:24

Just watched the Hollyrood committee quiz the BBC head honchos. I suspect that they were very uncomfortable with some forensic examination, especially from Joan McAlpine, who stuck to her guns when faced with some stonewalling from Ken MacQuarrie.
Both he and Boothman stated that they were proud of the BBC’s investigative teams, and in fact mentioned Eleanor Bradford in glowing terms.
So we can take it that there will be no change there.

# 1876 2013-01-22 14:25

What's with the red,white and blue banding of place names on outside broadcasts?....literaly showing their true colours.

# Al Hutch 2013-01-22 15:00

Hi All

My thoughts on this story have been covered by most of the comments above.

I have never been one for BBC Scotland bashing but even I have to admit they are losing the plot.

This is actually an interesting story. It should be presented by the LABOUR party not the BBC as the rules are wrong and need changed.... not that there are loopholes......

It would be like saying Caley Thistle didn't win the Premier League this year due to the loophole that only saw them take 3 points for a win!!!!

There may very well be a story here but it is not the one the BBC are making up.

Alastair

# Spirtle 2013-01-22 16:59

The mud has been slung and now only the stench remains.
Indeed the story appears to have disappeared off the BBC Scotland News site quicker than the sprinkle of snow we got in Glasgow this morning.

Has this been another exercise in misinformation successfully achieved by the British Broadcasting corporation?

# Louperdowg 2013-01-22 17:55

She certainly likes to blow her own trumpet...

I am an award-winning journalist with 20 years experience in news. I've been health correspondent for BBC Scotland since 2001, reporting and advising the BBC on all Scottish health issues. I regularly broadcast on BBC Scotland, BBC Television News, BBC Radio 5Live, Radio 4, and write for BBC News Online.

I am an investigative journalist and have presented TV and radio documentaries.
I am currently experimenting with facebook to research stories and increase the BBC's profile in a way which is unique in the BBC.

I sit on BBC Scotland's Diversity Champions group, which aims to increase the number of women, people with disabilities, and people from ethnic minorities in all roles within the BBC.

In 2006 I was a member of a Scottish Government working group to produce new guidelines on how to communicate risk to the public.

www.linkedin.com/.../342

# NkosiEcosse 2013-01-22 18:21

Thanks, I posted the link earlier but for some reason it was not published. I watched in incredulation when Ms. Bradford was spouting the rubbish on BBC Scotland News and even my wife who tends to ignore political issues, was stunned as we both have nothing but admiration for NHS Scotland. After going to my GP for a melanoma on my arm, it was cut out in Stirling within 1 week, and when they measured it and said they wanted to take another slice out of my arm they had me booked into Gartnavel within 4 weeks. That is efficiency to me.

# Old Smokey 2013-01-22 18:51

Thats an interesting bit from Ms I am
that she was a member of a Scottish Government working Group in 2006. How did she get on that in 2006? Perhaps her chums in Labour invited her

# DJ 2013-01-22 22:58

It's even more interesting since there was only a "Scottish Executive" until 2007!

# Hirta 2013-01-22 19:48

You know, I read and saw this "piece" on the BBC yesterday and my first thought was I bet this appears on NNS, such was the disgusting way it was reported.

Well done again NNS.

But, what gets me, repeatedly, these smear campaigns headed by the BBC are never questioned nor countered by the SNP. Why?

Incidentally, I have a family member who has time and again been treated impeccably by NHS Scotland undergoing or waiting for treatment. So much so, a generous donation is coming their way.

# ScotFree1320 2013-01-22 20:13

At the YES launch in Glasgow I had a very brief amount of time with a well known MSP.

After polite introductions, where the MSP said they knew of my name, I said I had strong opinions on the BBC and that the MSP had maybe seen my name commenting about it.

The MSP instantly appeared uncomfortable at the prospect of talking to me about the BBC. The said MSP made excuses and left shortly after.

I get the impression it's a touchy subject!

# Albalha 2013-01-22 21:10

Good piece, I wrote about the NHS Grampian story, link below,the EB school of journalism is curious at best! bellacaledonia.org.uk/.../...

# Albalha 2013-01-23 12:48

Just realised this may sound like I'm being rather boastful - in case of doubt the 'good piece' refers to the Newsnet article above!

# davemsc 2013-01-23 16:06

That's why a full stop or exclamation mark would have been better than a comma ;-)

# chicmac 2013-01-23 02:53

The thing that annoyed me about this latest one, as I posted at the time, was that Ms Bradford said (paraphrasing) "as I reported before hundreds of Scots in Grampian have missed their waiting list guarantee" when in fact she said 3,500. She couldn't even acknowledge the inaccuracy.

She has also made quite gross errors of a schoolgirl nature in the past.

But the one that rankles most from her was on the eve of the 2012 elections when the WHO issued a report broadly complimentary about Scottish youth (see below) but instead of being reported by the BBC they gave Ms Bradford several minutes to lecture us on how 'bad' Scottish youth was health wise.
m.scotsman.com/.../...

# Albalha 2013-01-23 08:32

Alex Neil absolutely nailed it just now on GMS re the inaccuracies in the Bradford stories, well worth a listen if you missed it, when iplayer is up it kicks off about 0714.

# call me dave 2013-01-23 08:54

Yes he certainly did and talked right over 'Haley' the interviewer who was trying to cut him off. She was not well pleased ( as the under 30's are inclined to say)!

Nice start to the day.

# Louperdowg 2013-01-23 15:18

Aye, Hayley was getting a bit snarky at the end.

Most unprofessional.

# farrochie 2013-01-23 16:31

Spot on, Alex Neil. "BBC's reporting standards" called into question by Scottish Minister. Should be a major news item this evening and tomorrow?

# src19 2013-01-23 10:01

Be interesting if this subject appears or not at FMQ's tomorrow by the Lamentable one to attack the Deputy FM again.

# ds12 2013-01-23 10:51

Well done to Alex Neil this morning,no messing about and highlighted their inaccurate reporting.
He'll have to be on his toes now though because the BBC aren't going to accept that sort of reaction,not when they are always right.

# Dundonian West 2013-01-23 12:27

Link-Alex Neil on 'Good Morning Scotland' today.
Interviewer Hayley Millar.
Reported interview re the above posts,begins at 1:17:50 approximately.

www.bbc.co.uk/.../b01prbw9

# Yesitis 2013-01-23 13:05

@src19
You can almost guarantee Liebor`s Lamont will wave her wee pointy finger in the general direction of Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond at FMQs, whilst spluttering Unionist BBC/MSM spawned NHS in crisis scripted rubbish.

That`s the way it works in Scotland.
Labour feed Reporting Scotland and Scottish MSM the headlines and at FMQs Johann Lamont attacks the SNP with whichever headline takes her (or Ed Milliband`s, at Labour`s London HQ) fancy.

Scottish politics in 2013.

# Keep UTG 2013-01-23 18:24

Alex Neil got tore in to the Beeb this morning,sitting in my snow induced traffic jam the car behind must`ve been wondering what match was on as i punched the air when he nailed the presenter. Factually Incorrect Bradford..........FIB........sound familiar?

# cuckooshoe 2013-01-25 18:42

Meanwhile...

mirror.co.uk/.../...

Scandal-hit NHS Trust says sorry after baby boy is found with dummy TAPED to its face

A member of staff has been suspended and police are probing the incident at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

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Loopholes, NHS waiting times and BBC Scotland

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