Sir, – Following The Courier story (“Dundee has highest stillbirth rates in Scotland”, November 30), I want to reassure readers that the safety of mothers and their babies is of paramount importance to everyone working in the NHS.
The death of any baby leaves a heartbroken family suffering in pain and we are doing everything possible to reduce the risk of this happening.
Our world leading Patient Safety Programme is designed to help each health board continually improve safety in their maternity and neonatal services
The Scottish stillbirth rate has reduced by 19% in the last 10 years, which represents good progress by the hardworking staff in maternity units.
However, stillbirth and neonatal death rates do fluctuate across NHS boards and if NHS care falls short of expected standards, it is absolutely vital that lessons are learned and appropriate improvements made. Where necessary, Healthcare Improvement Scotland can be asked to investigate and provide an improvement plan.
In addition, a new Perinatal Mortality Review Tool is being developed for use by all Boards in Scotland and will support systematic reviews of the circumstances and care leading up to and surrounding each stillbirth and neonatal death.
This will help boards learn lessons and give parents the answers they want, as quickly as possible.
Catherine Calderwood.
Chief Medical Officer for Scotland.
Disbelief at R&A re-entry ban
Sir, – I read with disbelief and anger your article (“R&A Comes under fire for re-entry ban at the Open”, Courier, November 30) regarding the R&A’s decision not to allow re-admissions at next year’s Open Championship.
The R&A’s greed and disrespect for the town of Carnoustie is quite staggering.
They are doing everything possible to make the championship inaccessible to ordinary people.
They sold the TV rights to Sky – my golf club in Angus cannot afford to pay the Sky subscription.
Since the R&A want volunteer marshals from local golf clubs to assist with crowd management on practice and Championship days, perhaps the answer ought to be to withdraw help and see how they get on without us.
Moira Brown.
142 Gray St,
Broughty Ferry.
Bridge limit: just a minute in it
Sir, – Humza Yousaf says closing the Queensferry Crossing for repairs will be worth it because the speed limit can be raised to 70mph from 40mph.
The bridge is 1.7 miles long. It takes 153 seconds to cross at 40mph and 85 seconds at 70mph, a saving of 68 seconds.
The two hours 10 minutes to get across the bridge from Stonehaven on Monday would have been 20 minutes less without the inexplicable the queue to get on to the bridge.
A 68 second improvement is neither here nor there.
Allan Sutherland.
1 Willow Row,
Stonehaven.
Not much different to 1795
Sir, – Britain, 1795: The poor herded into dingy, damp, cramped habitations, surging unemployment, slave wages, food so expensive they could barely afford to pay for rent and clothing, fuel so expensive they could not afford to cook, soup kitchens, rampant drunkeness and crime, a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, festering working-class resentment and unrest, party-political dementia.
Britain, 2017: Hello 1795.
Technology has vastly improved since 220 years ago. Humanity, vastly, has not.
Raymond L. Shields.
4 Millhall Crescent,
Dundee.
Taking your bat home
Sir, – D. Roberston (“EU to Blame, not Westminster” November 28) suggests the EU Commission are being a bit mean excluding Dundee from Capital of Culture consideration as Istanbul, Bergen and Stavanger (all non-EU countries) have already won the title.
He fails to mention that these cities were eligible as belonging to countries that are candidates, or potential candidates, to join the EU or members of the EEA. I’m sorry about all the hard work that has been done in Dundee to win the title, but the First Minister is correct – the blame lies in the UK’s decision to leave the EU. When you take your bat and ball home, you can no longer join the game.
Jeannie Mackenzie.
15 Gateside Place,
Kilbarchan,
Johnstone.
Trump’s retweet is worrying
Sir, – I am writing to express my concern regarding the latest retweet by the President of the USA which shows an unbalanced, incorrect and completely wrong impression of Islam, and I fear that this will serve only to stir up more hatred.
It is shocking that President Trump would retweet the tweets without knowing the background or the context.
Islam is a religion of peace and inclusivity. Actions of a few should not be taken to represent the whole religion of Islam, as doing this will lead to further misunderstandings and mistrust. We feel that dialogue is the right way to go forward, where people should discuss things in a peaceful way.
I fear this latest tweet will cause more chaos, hatred and conflict.
Shoaib Khan.
President, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Dundee,
Bait Ul Mahmood Mosque,
75A Dens Road,
Dundee.
Brexit means Wrexit
Sir, – It has become all too apparent that UK Government’s Brexit strategy was indeed born out of Baldrick’s cunning “No Plan”, guaranteed to mystify and wrong-foot EU negotiators.
Contributions from the opposition benches have done little to improve a dire situation.
Helpful proposals such as Eire paying for a hard border with Northern Ireland can best be described as a lot of Hooey.
Meanwhile, spokesmen from the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan have made it perfectly clear that isolated, isolationist Great Britain can expect no special deals if we leave the EU.
Brexit means Wrexit as far as the UK is concerned, as a wrecking ball is about to be applied to our economy.
We’re watching a train crash in slow motion.
Cheer up – the worst is yet to come!
James Stevenson.
5 Drummond Ave,
Auchterarder.
Car fumes worse than cigarettes
Sir, – Why are people trying to ban smoking in play parks?
If people are concerned about children’s health, would it not be better to ban cars from parking near schools with their engines running?
At this time of year most of these cars’ engines are not even warmed up, and they sit parked outside schools with their exhausts spewing out noxious fumes.
Surely that is more harmful to children’s health than the odd puff of cigarette smoke?
Bob Duncan.
110 Caesar Avenue,
Carnoustie.
