Sir, – I see that A & J Stephen have employed the tired old trick by developers of submitting a controversial and highly unpopular planning application knowing that most community councils take a break at this time of the year (Company lodges plans for phase one of 700-home development, The Courier, December 14).
People have festivities and holidays to plan and enjoy and do not want to be bothered with planning matters.
This was completely predictable. I am not being a NIMBY as my objections to this development have been based on the lack of a bypass, so once a bypass has actually been constructed, then many arguments against any further development in Scone/Balbeggie/Burrelton/Guldtown will fall.
My main concerns are that currently, the school is all but full as is the medical centre. The Scone infrastructure cannot cope with this sort of increase in population.
The traffic congestion and pollution at Bridgend and into Atholl Street is among the worst in Scotland. And has nobody noticed all the small new proposed developments in Balbeggie, Guildtown, Scone and Gannochy?
Furthermore, I and others also have doubts over whether or not anybody living in Scone, or even Balbeggie and working in Perth, will bother to use the bypass anyway. It will not be used by the increasing number of Perth commuters to Dundee, Fife and all points south towards Edinburgh.
Wildlife and woodland will be destroyed but nobody really cares, do they? It’s all about money, profit and the ruination of quality of life.
I also have severe doubts that the SNP’s declaration that local decisions should be governed by local people will actually have any meaning at all. It’s just another political sound-bite.
John D Ridley,
Spoutwells Drive,
Scone.
Lack of care in NHS portrayal
Sir, – The drama, Care that was broadcast on BBC on Sunday December 9 was extremely well acted and very accurately portrayed the physical and mental difficulties faced by patients and families following a stroke. However, the way in which the NHS staff were portrayed was simply appalling.
Every single member of staff in the drama showed little or no empathy, care or sensitivity to the patient or her two daughters.
The nurses were shown to have little interest in the patient and unable to cope with her challenging behaviours.
The discharge team showed little understanding of the needs of a stroke patient and the discharge coordinator committed gross misconduct.
The multi-disciplinary team spoke with no regard to the patient’s presence in the room and her apparent distress.
The stroke consultant behaved like a scared schoolboy and the occupational therapist was patronising and unprofessional.
If this was a drama aimed to provoke political debate about the NHS then it has gone about it in completely the wrong way.
Yes, there are bed shortages in the UK, yes, there are staffing shortages and yes, morale is low in many health care areas.
However, despite all of this, NHS staff do not behave in this manner. The overwhelming majority of us are highly skilled, empathetic and passionate about delivering patient-centred care. And still want to and manage to do so, despite all of this.
Families are not lied to, patients’ distress not ignored. Challenging behaviour is commonplace and managed appropriately and with sensitivity and professionalism.
Ongoing care following discharge from acute care is carefully coordinated and tailored to meet individual needs.
Of course, things do go wrong, quality of care can be compromised and a few members of staff do let us all down. But this is not the norm.
The general public will always have the tendency to believe what they read in newspapers and see on television. This portrayal of the NHS must not be believed.
I am so angry and disappointed that my vocation, my passion and my hard-earned career has been shown in such a negative light by a non-factual programme.
The final scene showing that the only caring staff members in the drama were those employed by an expensive, private nursing home was the final stab to my soul.
Sarah Wiseman,
Senior Charge Nurse,
Ward 4,
Ninewells Hospital,
Dundee.
Bridges or aircraft carriers
Sir, – I note in his reply to me (Letters December 11) that Clark Cross fails to address any of the points I raised in response to his original complaint regarding Scotland’s infrastructure.
Mr Cross states that the SNP have had 11 years to “sort out… Scotland’s bridges and damaged and potholed roads.”
He omits that roads and bridges require regular maintenance, augmentation and replacement. A process criminally neglected by decades of Labour, Tory and LibDem administrations.
With Westminster reducing our budget year after year, a £30 billion Labour PFI bill to contend with and monies being spent on protecting us from Tory policies we didn’t vote for, our government is still pressing ahead with a house, hospital and school building programme unmatched in the UK.
While the SNP build bridges, the Tories build aircraft carriers.
If Mr Cross considers our own government’s spending plans worthy of complaint, perhaps he will address the shambles of Crossrail, still incomplete and costing almost £3 billion more than the original budget. Or the equally shambolic HS2 project, with neither benefiting Scotland in spite of Scottish revenues being pumped into both.
He attempts to deflect attention from his original complaint by moving on to higher education. Under EU legislation, European students in Scotland are entitled to the same grants as Scottish students, unpalatable as it is to the gentleman. This is a reciprocal agreement. As to his other gripe concerning the cap, the current policy is in place to aid more Scots from disadvantaged backgrounds into higher education.
Finally, I am not a member of the SNP, however I do believe in Scottish independence. The SNP aim to deliver that. I also appreciate good government, which they are already delivering.
If Mr Cross has a better alternative, perhaps he will name them along with the beneficial policies they would enact.
Ken Clark,
Thorter Way,
Dundee.
Time to get back on our feet
Sir, – Day by day, the United Kingdom is progressively deteriorating. We are now a divided nation with so many of our hopes and aspirations at stake, and all the time an alarming state of unrest and anarchy is steadily approaching.
We are not alone in this respect –the same thing is happening around the world.
Our Brexit problems are exacerbating the situation and right now we must do something, and fast, to prevent further disaster. Compromises will have to be made, of course, as we do not all think as one.
For all too long we have been involved with a multitude of Brexit negotiations, most of which have come to nothing – but at last we have reached an acceptable compromise.
Of course, it won’t please everybody, but at least it will allow us to get back to a stable basis again and back to some sort of normality in our lives. To further prolong negotiations concerning Brexit is unthinkable. Enough has been done already.
Finally I would suggest we give the Prime Minister all the support we can in getting the whole issue through Parliament.
Forget about party politics and look on this as our attempt to get our country back on its feet again.
Ian Gordon,
Woodbank,
Blairgowrie.
UK benefits trump EU offer
Sir, – I do not understand the logic of the First Minister’s desperation to leave the benefit of being part of the UK, which despite correspondents letters to the contrary are quite considerable, and at the same time being desperate to remain in the EU where it has been made quite clear that we are being held to ransom over the Brexit question.
A A Bullions,
Glencairn Crescent,
Leven.