NHS at ‘tipping point’ and minister’s Whatsapp fears
Pressures facing the NHS make the front pages of many of Scotland’s newspapers. The Daily Telegraph reports that the “full extent of the crisis” has been exposed with the publication of the number of people on waiting lists. The number of GPs has also fallen to a record low.
The Metro writes that one in seven people living in Scotland were waiting for NHS treatment or a test in the past three months. Public Health Scotland said 73,284 of them had been waiting for more than a year.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf is under increased pressure, the Scottish Daily Express reports. It says the waiting lists, drop in GPs and poor A&E figures present a “truly terrifying” triple threat.
On a local level, the Press and Journal reports that one NHS Grampian hospital has been described as “unfit for purpose” and NHS Highland is calling in volunteers to support care services this winter.
The Scotsman highlights further issues for the health secretary. Mr Yousaf is one of six Scottish government ministers being criticised for using Whatsapp to conduct official business, raising fears about transparency. The newspaper’s request for the messages to be released was turned down because it would be “too expensive”.
Ferguson Marine’s troubled ferry contract is the lead for The Herald. It reports that £128.25m of public money intended to be spent on two ferries cannot be traced by bosses at the nationalised shipyard.
A parliamentary investigation into SNP MP John Nicolson makes the front page of The National. It reports that MPs backed the probe after Mr Nicolson discussed a confidential letter from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle in a video posted on social media.
Police have destroyed hundreds of items of evidence from an investigation into the murder of Jodi Jones in 2003, the Scottish Sun reports. Luke Mitchell’s legal team wanted to re-test some of the items ahead of a potential appeal.
The results of a clinical trial of a drug which has been found to slow decline in patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s is the lead for The Times. The drug, delivered as a fortnightly intravenous drip, slows memory decline by 27% over 18 months. Experts say it is a historic moment, the paper reports.
The Daily Mail focuses on the continuing effects of the bird flu crisis sweeping farms in the UK. Industry chiefs are now warning there could be a shortage of turkeys this Christmas as it emerged more than half of free-range birds had been wiped out or culled as a result of the disease, the paper says.
Christmas also makes the lead for the Daily Star. It reports that the sales will start early as shops try to sell items at a “massive discount” because of falling sales.
The i focuses on the latest census data which revealed less than half of the population identify as Christian. It says it is the first time since the Dark Ages that Christians in the UK are in the minority. Churches’ views on women’s rights, abortion and sexuality have influenced the religion’s decline, the paper says.
Actor James McAvoy regrets taking his show Cyrano de Bergerac to Scotland after his co-stars faced daily “sexually explicit and violent” taunts in Glasgow, the Daily Record reports. The Hollywood actor, from Drumchapel, was “scunnered” by the abuse, it reports.
Edinburgh Evening News reports that a 140-year-old pet refuge is under threat as energy costs rise and more owners give up pets. Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home expects its energy bills to be eight times higher next year.
A former bar and restaurant owner – Andy Keir, ex-boss of Bruach in Broughty Ferry – has been jailed for five years for rape, The Courier reports.
The family of a victim of assault who has died of illness has vowed to get justice for him, the Evening Express reports.
Middle-aged environmental protestors dressed as butterflies were escorted away from a public demonstration by police, the Evening Express writes.
The Glasgow Times uses its front page to ask readers to donate food to an appeal to “ensure no-one goes hungry” at Christmas.
