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Wed, 6th December 2023

Ministers have been accused of failing to deal with the issue. Picture: PA Wire

NHS vacancies ‘seriously impacting’ patient care, doctors’ leaders warn
Consultant vacancies are up 11.7 per cent

Don't miss...

  • 1Scotland's archaeologists up for awards as thousands of years of past revealed
  • 2RRS Sir David Attenborough crosses paths with world’s largest iceberg
  • 3More than a thousand soldiers in Scotland live in poorest military accommodation
  • 4Government pledges to do ‘all it can’ as councils warn of bankruptcy risk
  • 5How Scottish charities will use £2 million 'loss and damage' fund
    • Home secretary James Cleverly in Rwanda. Picture: Ben Birchall - Pool/Getty Images

    Universities could face skilled labour shortage due to salary threshold hike

    Analysis The key questions Boris Johnson must answer at the UK Covid Inquiry

    CSM McVean (left). Photo: Toronto Scottish Regiment Archives

    First World War grave identified as belonging to Scottish soldier

    Jonny Ingledew (left) and Kate MacDonald (right) at work at North Harris Distillery where they make their award-winning gin with small batch whisky coming soon. PIC: Contributed.

    The islanders called back to Uist by the strong pull of home

    Values of Darling and Douglas-Hamilton put SNP Health Secretary to shame Murdo Fraser

    Christmas is the perfect time for a vinyl and CD revival Euan McColm

    Why Scotland and Vanuatu have forged a new bond in fight against climate change Ralph Regenvanu

    After educational performance falls 'off a cliff', urgent action is vital Scotsman comment

    Students during a class. Ben Birchall/PA Wire

    Huge decline in Scotland’s performance in Pisa world education rankings

    Nation’s above-average falls in OECD scores for maths, science and reading branded ‘dismaying’

    Lifestyle

    Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young star in this year's big Edinburgh panto at the Festival Theatre.

    Passions: enduring appeal of panto and the stars who make theatre simply magical

    Timothée Chalamet in Wonka

    Film reviews: Wonka | Leave the World Behind | Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

    Zakir Hussain PIC: Jim McGuire

    Music review: Symphony Orchestra of India & Zakir Hussain, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

    Stuart Paterson

    The Scotsman Sessions #390: Stuart Paterson

    Aladdin at Perth Theatre PIC: Mihaela Bodlovic

    Theatre reviews: Aladdin at the Macrobert | Aganeza Scrooge at the Tron, Glasgow

    Madness PIC: Perou

    Music review: Madness, Hydro, Glasgow

    The V&A Dundee, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, is the centrepiece of an ongoing regeneration of the city's waterfront.

    'A great deal of emptiness' - Dundee's striking V&A leaves me feeling a bit sad

    Scotsman Video

    Scotsman Video

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    The latest video from The Scotsman

    Featured Videos

    First Minister Humza Yousaf is questioned by journalists

    Scotsman Politics Show - First Minister's Questions

    Alice Faye

    The Scotsman Sessions #389: Alice Faye

    Edinburgh's Dunard Centre concert hall is proposed to be built behind a Royal Bank of Scotland building on St Andrew Square.

    Soaring costs and new delay revealed for new Edinburgh concert hall

    Images released by South Ayrshire Council show the damage caused to the hotel following the blaze.

    Hotelier 'interested' in acquiring fire ravaged Station Hotel in Ayr

    Edward Kane, Advocate in the Supernal Sisters by Ross Macfarlane KC

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 7: ‘Almost Like a Real Gentleman’ (Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane)

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 7

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 6: ‘Nothing More Than a Jumped-Up Fishmonger’ (Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane)

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 6

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 5: ‘A Much Sought-After Dresser of the Dead’. Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 5

    Puzzles

    Quick CrosswordTo test and hone your word skills

    SudokuThe ultimate logic-based numbers game

    WordwheelPit yourself against the clock with our simple anagram game

    Politics

    North Sea oil and gas companies' expertise in offshore engineering can help build renewable energy schemes (Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)

    Why oil and gas companies are a vital part of the transition to net zero

    Scotland's educational performance has declined again on the Pisa international league tables (Picture: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

    Scotland's terrible Pisa results show 'Curriculum for Excellence' isn't working

    Party politics is getting in way of tackling housing emergency Barrie Cunning

    Thatcher wouldn't think much of Starmer's stance on private school fees John McLellan

    First Minister Humza Yousaf at an independence rally. Image: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images.

    What do the Scottish Government's nine independence papers say?

    Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater. Image: Jane Barlow/Press Association.

    Lorna Slater told to 'go back to the drawing board' on recycling bill

    Pubs and bars are calling for more more support

    Scotland’s pubs and bars ‘closing at twice the rate of those in England’

    Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader. Image: House of Commons/UK Parliament/Press Association.

    UK immigration plan 'absurd, ignorant and will wreck the economy'

    cut through the noise

    Sport

    Rangers manager Philippe Clement addresses the media ahead of facing Hearts on Wednesday. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

    Nils Koppen backed to solve Rangers transfer woes - 'faster and better'

    Former PSV scouting chief is new head of recruitment at Rangers
    Hearts set for keeper dilemma as Gordon poised to return v Rangers
    Former Scotland number one set to return to Hearts squad at Tynecastle on Wednesday night...
    Hibs left-back Lewis Stevenson challenges Aberdeen's Bojan Miovski during the 2-0 win at Easter Road on Sunday. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

    Hibs manager praised for bucking 'depressing' Scottish Premiership trend

    Statistics suggest a worrying decline in youngsters being given a chance in the Scottish top flight
    Farrell is a legitimate panto villain but his own fans booing him is bonkers

    Aidan Smith

    It's Hampden embarrassment as irresistible Lionesses demolish Scots

    A Lauren James inspired England demolished a lacklustre Scotland 6-0 at Hampden Park in their fin...

    Rangers AGM turns bizarre over green agenda amid £10.5m that 'has to go away'
    The key points – and unusual topics – raised at the Ibrox club’s 2023 annual general meeting...

    Opinion

    Beavers and the Cairngorms seem like a good fit (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

    First Cairngorms beavers in 400 years is well worth celebrating

    Chris Murray, Legal Director at Eversheds Sutherland

    Are there problems on the horizon for public sector purchasing? - Chris Murray

    Keir Starmer said Margaret Thatcher’s set loose Britain’s 'natural entrepreneurialism' (Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    Readers' letters: Keir Starmer is a true child of Thatcher

    More than 2.6 million people flocked to Edinburgh's Christmas market in and around East Princes Street Gardens last winter. Picture: Lloyd Smith

    Here’s how to stay safe in the city centre this winter - Sam Ainslie

    Education

    SNP ministers under pressure to finally act to arrest education decline

    Nation’s plummeting Pisa scores will spark fresh demands for reformCalum RossCalum Ross
    Glasgow high school pupils sitting exam. Image: John Devlin

    SNP warned not to 'pass the buck' if Pisa rankings show further Scottish decline

    Aberdeen University King's College building

    Scottish Government tells Aberdeen University to 'carefully consider' cuts

    Heriot-Watt researcher nets £1m in bid to scale up next-gen optical fibre tech

    Scott Reid

    Rural Affairs

    Life in rural Scotland is a worryingly isolating experience for members of the LGBTQ+ community, research has shown. Picture: Getty Images

    'It's a silent world': Challenges of older LGBTQ+ in rural Scotland

    As conversations continue on support needed for younger members of the LGBTQ+ community in rural Sco...
    Visa proposal to address depopulation branded a gimmick amid housing crisis
    Islanders have said the issue is not a lack of people who want to live in remote areas, but rather t...
    Lenabo Forest, near Peterhead, is on the market for offers over £3.9m (pic: Goldcrest Land & Forestry Group)

    Forest with former WW1 airship station on the market for offers over £3.9m

    The former Lenabo Airship Station, established in 1915 as a base for airships to patrol the North Sea during the First World War, sits within the property
    Promising lapwing test shows farmers are 'part of the solution not the problem'Katharine Hay
    Katharine Hay
    Storm Ciarán: Disruption continues across railway line following signal outage

    A yellow rain warning is in place for Scotland's east coast today.

    ...
    SSPCA say there is currently no safe way to rescue 'Britain's loneliest sheep'
    The sheep’s fleece is so overgrown it interferes with potential rescue options...

    Health

    The Scottish Government aims to ensure 95 per cent of patients presenting at an A&E department are seen within four hours, but currently just 63.2 per cent are seen within that timeframe.

    Could one Scottish health board hold the key to fixing the NHS's A&E crisis?

    Gone are the days of turning up at A&E with a broken bone, or an illness - A&E is now increasingly reserved for people who need resuscitated

    Prioritisation may be the only way the NHS will survive the winter

    There are 4,412 addresses that have been “red flagged” by the Scottish Ambulance Service

    Police warning as almost 4,500 addresses ‘red flagged’ by ambulance service

    Meadowbank operations manager Martin Bews (left) with Keith Ridley Photo: Neil Hanna/St Andrew's First Aid/PA Wire

    Quick-thinking sports centre staff save life of athletics coach

    World Aids Day is marked on December 1 (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

    HIV is now a manageable condition like diabetes, yet stigma and ignorance remain

    Matheson's iPad expenses bill is not the only reason why he should be ashamed Jackie Baillie

    The first building components for the new National Treatment Centre arrived at the Larbert site in October last year. Pic: Michael Gillen

    Delays to hospital ward project

    Scotsman Passions

    Alan Davies and Sarah Alexander as Jonathan and Polly Creek in the ​mystery drama

    Passions: As the nights draw in, we’re entering peak Jonathan Creek season

    Why student journalism must be protected at all costs Conor Matchett

    A tree by the coast near to St Andrews, Fife (pic: Katharine Hay)

    Going solo on pilgrimage routes, from Way of St Andrews to Camino de Santiago

    Action figure of Freddie Krueger

    Passion: Horror films aren't purely for Halloween - Gaby Soutar

    Heritage and Retro

    A decent compact disc player is the perfect way to listen to Dire Straits' 80s classic Brothers in Arms. Picture: Scott Reid

    Forget the over-hyped vinyl revival, compact discs make sweeter, cheaper music

    Fisherman Donald Francis (DF) MacNeil has been honoured at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards for the protest song The Clearances Again. Picture: Stephen Kearney

    Na Trads: Fisherman honoured for protest song at Scottish music awards gala

    Exclusive Entry fees on the cards for museums and galleries in Edinburgh

    Sir Michael Palin's Big Three Adventures, available as BBC DVD box-sets, benefit from regular viewing. Picture: Scott Reid

    Humour, insight and passion: Michael Palin takes top honours in TV travel world

    The 21 best Scottish movies voted by Scotsman readers

    Joaquin Phoenix stars as Napoleon in the new Ridley Scott film (Picture: Sony Pictures)

    How Scots played a key role in the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte

    The agreement marks the return of a dedicated shipbuilder in Stornoway for the first time in 100 years.

    Shipbuilding returns to Stornoway for first time in 100 years

    The Scotsman Sessions

    Just a few of the artists who have performed Scotsman Sessions

    The Scotsman Sessions: links to numbers 1-350

    Stuart Paterson

    The Scotsman Sessions #390: Stuart Paterson

    Alice Faye

    The Scotsman Sessions #389: Alice Faye

    Michael Pedersen

    The Scotsman Sessions #388: Michael Pedersen

    Brenda

    The Scotsman Sessions #387: Brenda

    Zara Gladman

    The Scotsman Sessions #386: Zara Gladman

    Alannah Moar

    The Scotsman Sessions #385: Alannah Moar

    Recommended

    Eat This Playlist on Spotify unlocks a game for iOS app users.

    How to find and play hidden Eat This Playlist game on Spotify

    A kimono owned by Freddie Mercury will be going on display in a Japanese fashion exhibition at V&A Dundee next year. Picture: Victoria and Albert Museum

    Freddie Mercury kimono worn at home to go on show in V&A Dundee exhibition

    These are the best and spookiest costumes for children for Halloween 2023.

    Cheap, scary Halloween costumes for kids - Wednesday and Marvel heroes

    This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

    Amazon Devices Explained: Which you should and shouldn't buy

    This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

    Pixel 7 deal gets even better with a further Prime Day price slash

    Air fryers on sale for half-price and under £50 on Prime Day only

    This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

    Upgrade your TV for just £40 with this 4K Chromecast deal on Prime Day

    Sport Opinion

    Alan Tait of Scotland forces his way over to score against England in the Calcutta Cup Five Nations match at Twickenham in 1999.

    Six Nations: Don't flutter eyelashes- this is crown jewel and must stay free
    Rugby’s great tournament could move away from terrestrial TV – something that just cannot happen

    Ian Johnston discovered he loved swimming, after avoiding it for years, at Dalry Swim Centre in Edinburgh

    How I learned to stop hating the 'boiled carrots' of sports and love it instead

    Nigel Clough, manager of Mansfield Town, has told his players to curb the goal celebrations. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

    Aidan Smith: You’ve only made a routine tackle. Why all the hugs and high-fives?

    "What? Really, mate? You're stopping the game again?" Ange Postecoglou during the VAR-dominated Spurs-Chelsea game

    Aidan Smith: I’m with Ange Postecoglou - let’s kill VAR before it kills football

    Homes

    What is it? A beautifully presented upper townhouse in the Capital which has been lovingly refurbished by its current owner. Period features can be found throughout and there are breathtaking views over Edinburgh Castle.

    Three's a charm: Grand Capital homes now on the market

    The exterior of Auchengarroch at 16 Chalton Road. Image: contributed

    Charming Victorian villa with Arts and Crafts additions

    The building is tucked away in the North Ayrshire countryside (pic: David Barbour)

    Building developed inside Scottish ruin wins prestigious architect award

    “The nationwide 5G rollout should be treated as a matter of urgency if we are to continue to narrow – rather than widen – the digital divide.” Picture – supplied

    Ad Feature Vodafone UK: Why we need to address the rural digital divide in Scotland

    Obituaries

    Henry Kissinger pictured in September 1972 (Picture: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    Scotsman Obituaries: Henry Kissinger, controversial US diplomat

    Lord Douglas-Hamilton at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

    Scotsman Obituaries: Rt Hon Lord Selkirk of Douglas, ex-Scotland Office minister

    Rugby Union

    Fraser Brown leads out Glasgow Warriors for the Champions Cup game against Leicester Tigers at the start of the 2016/17 European campaign. This Friday, they kick off the tournament against Northampton Saints at Scotstoun. (Picture: Gary Hutchison/SNS)

    Fraser Brown: Glasgow Warriors have a pack to flourish in the Champions Cup

    Edinburgh's Jamie Ritchie, right, with head coach Sean Everitt. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

    Edinburgh plan to rest four senior forwards including Jamie Ritchie

    Scotland were represented by the Thistles composite side in last season's Celtic Challenge competition. The next edition will feature Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors women's teams. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

    ‘Outstanding opportunity’ as Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors launch women’s teams

    Stewart Melville’s Mikey Jones, now a pro with Edinburgh Rugby, is tackled during the Boys School Under 18 Cup Final against George Watson's College in December 2019. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group / SRU)

    Stew Mel & George Watson's meet at Murrayfield - full list of Schools finals

    Hollie Davidson has been appointed assistant referee for the 2024 Six Nations match between England and Wales at Twickenham on February 10. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

    Hollie Davidson to make history at Six Nations as Scotland referees confirmed

    Former Scotland player Craig Chalmers has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pic: Jamie McDonald /Allsport

    Scotland 1990 Grand Slam hero urges men to get checked after cancer diagnosis

    Assistant coach Pete Murchie during a Glasgow Warriors training session at Scotstoun. Picture: Ross MacDonald/SNS

    Murchie believes URC variety will work in Warriors’ favour against Northampton

    Harry Paterson helped Edinburgh record a big win over Ulster.

    Paterson ends Edinburgh nightmare by playing part in poignant win over Ulster

    Jamie Ritchie picked up the player of the match award for his Edinburgh performance against Ulster.

    Ritchie inspires Edinburgh to stunning URC triumph over UIster in Belfast

    Cars

    Drivers can sometimes be confused about when to use their fog lights.

    When drivers should - and shouldn't - use their car fog lights

    Careless car drivers risk hefty fines over winter.

    Tips to avoid shelling out up to £18,000 in motoring fines this winter

    Driving in wintery conditions can be a challenge.

    Winter Driving Advice: How to stay safe on the roads in ice and snow

    Top UK road-trips which have earned their reputation as the world’s most scenic drives. Picture - supplied

    Ad Feature Top road-trip getaways which are not so far away

    Take car while driving with your pet this winter. First up: don't let them take the wheel...

    Keep your dog safe on winter car journeys - and avoid a £20,000 fine

    Toyota has worked hard to ensure the C-HR still stands out from the crowd. Credit: Toyota press office

    Toyota C-HR Review: stylish SUV is more practical than its predecessor

    Must Read

    “A just transition to net zero can be achieved through decarbonising homes and the electrification of heat,” Josiah Lockhart, Chief Executive of leading environmental charity Changeworks. Picture - supplied

    Ad Feature Two years on from COP26 in Glasgow Scotland needs to step up – Changeworks

    Suranne Jones, who stars in the new series of the hit BBC thriller, Vigil. Pic: David Fisher/Shutterstock

    Suranne Jones talks about the new series of BBC’s Vigil

    The Queen Mother at Frances' shop

    High fashion in the Highlands