Today’s correspondents discuss the NHS, the funfair in Perth, renewable energy, saving for a rainy day and the looming public sector cuts.
Constructive comment needed in NHS debate Sir,-Your invitation for public comment on the local NHS is commendable. Those of us who work in the NHS serve the public, whose viewpoint is essential if we are to improve the service.
But that viewpoint needs to be balanced, informed and, if possible, constructive if it is going to inform debate that will catalyse change.
From a service provider’s point of view (I have worked as a consultant physician in Fife for over 22 years) the most helpful comment I receive is along the lines of, “This bit of the service works well but that bit does not. Have you thought of making the following changes?”
I know that can be hard to do when a specific aspect of the service has failed either ourselves or someone close to us, sometimes with tragic consequences, but together we need to try to make it better.
I am supremely conscious that the strength of anyone’s care journey is nearly always defined by the weakest link. That weak link may be due to an error, a misunderstanding, inexperience, or a wrong attitude, compounded at times by a lack of time, staff or equipment but rarely is it due to malice.
We really do try to get it right first time, every time, 24/7. So let us move away from the polarised views that tend to label nurses (and all hospital staff) as either angels or demons to a more challenging but constructive level of commentary that will facilitate change for the better.
John A. Wilson.Capelrig,Station Road,Kingskettle.
Perth blundered over funfair
Sir,-Perth and Kinross Council must be congratulated for again rising to heights of incompetent and insensitive management of the Fair City.
From their handling of the incinerator to the shambles over the city hall, must now be added the granting of a licence for a funfair to run until August 15, this at the same time as the Perth Show.
This fair has been set up on South Inch, opposite a Georgian terrace only 50 yards from one of the busiest main roads into Perth.
The council states the situation is being monitored, presumably for noise and nuisance, but quite honestly it should never have been allowed in the first place and the four on the licensing committee who voted for allowing this have shown themselves unfit to make decisions affecting the well being of the city.
Malcolm Moore.12 Marshall Place,Perth.
Renewable hope for future
Sir,-I am amazed at the correspondents who complain about investment and subsidies for renewable energy production.
The whole of our economy depends on energy to function and our oil and gas reserves are being used without a thought for future generations. Therefore, it is surely obvious that renewable energy development must be a high priority because, by the meaning of the word, that is the only type of energy we can rely on in the future.
Robert Potter.16R Brown Street,Dundee.
Trust savers with their cash
Sir,-In that hopeful dawn of 1997, calls were made to New Labour for an end to the compulsory purchase of annuities at the age of 75 but that was a hope too far.
Gordon Brown, on the verge of becoming the greatest peace-time control-freak in our nation’s history, was never going to allow ordinary people such freedom of action, but good things come to those who wait and we finally appear to have a government capable of saying two or three sensible things in a row.
If people exercise personal financial responsibility while they are working, they should not have inflicted on them policies that assume they will blow the lot on retirement.
If we demonstrate that we have the means to avoid falling back on the state then we should be allowed to hand on our savings to the family and not an insurance company.
(Dr) John Cameron.10 Howard Place,St Andrews.
Cuts must put customer first
Sir,-Why do some people think they are protecting and improving a public service by calling for spending on it to be ring-fenced? Simply keeping the spending level up or increasing it in line with inflation does not in itself raise quality.
In the NHS, for example, it does not tackle some deep-rooted concerns. These include levels of absenteeism; when consultants and surgeons are available for advice and operations; the ratio of front-line staff to managers and advisers; where it is best to involve the private sector and where not to.
What patients and public are interested in is not a financial figure or the size of the empire. They are interested in outcomes short waiting times, speedy appointments, first-class customer care and health provision when they need it, access to advice that might help prevent them being ill in the future. Do all these things simply depend on a ring-fenced allocated budget?
The independent budget review, chaired by Crawford Beveridge, has asked hard questions (July 30). It is to be hoped our politicians won’t just answer them with sound bites.
The big candidates for savings free personal care, concessionary travel, the ownership of Scottish Water, staffing in local government, the NHS and quangos ought not to be exempt from examination.
Calling for some things to be ring-fenced, or to slice a percentage amount off each budget, is too crude. A flexible approach is needed.
Above all it means looking at how each service is managed and how well it observes the principle of putting the customer first.
Bob Taylor.24 Shiel Court.Glenrothes.
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