Today’s correspondents discuss subjects including Ninewells Hospital, Scotland’s energy and St Monans’ public toilets.
Keep politicians out of hospital decisionsSir, Again Ninewells Hospital makes your front page for all the wrong reasons (June 14).
What an abuse of public money the NHS has become. Successive governments are to blame.
MPs of all political persuasions have seen the NHS as a financial entity when they should actually be measuring lives saved or lost.
The NHS is not a profit-making organisation and should not be seen as such.
I have read about someone dying in hospital due to the lack of care, or someone else being misdiagnosed and sent home only to die within days. These are not financial problems, these are problems of mismanagement in the day-to-day running of hospitals.
Some of these people may have died because someone, or all the people concerned, were not doing the job they were meant to.
Meanwhile politicians appear in the media stating that lessons will be learnt. Another costly enquiry begins, only to report back years later when there is zero interest.
Politicians have no place in lifesaving treatment which is what the NHS is fundamentally all about.
Upper management know figures; they never have to break bad news or deal with the real problems on the wards.
Cut the level of parliament’s running costs and politicians’ salaries and expenses. Cut the cost of inefficient wind power generation. Struggle on without another Forth bridge until times are better.
Did Dundee City Council need to spend over £1 million on office equipment for its new building? Did we really need a brand new housing office in Lochee and Douglas?
While government, local and national, spends our cash in this way, people are dying in our hospitals because of lack of good hospital care and poor management.
Arthur Gall.Pitalpin Court,Dundee.Landowners are making a mintSir, The letter from Mike Brannan (June 14), comes as a timely blast against the inanities expressed by the first minister (June 14).
If the recent furore over the massive hike in energy prices recently was not enough to make us realise just how much it is costing customers to provide well off landowners with feed-in tariffs, then the millions being paid (by us) not to produce electricity must make us all ask what kind of Scotland Alex Salmond is trying to create: a land of the milked and the moneyed? Ron Greer.Armoury House,Blair Atholl.Spending a penny in St MonansSir, As a local resident in St Monans I want to highlight the lack of toilets in the village.
I am one of the volunteers who man the local heritage collection. About a month ago a gentleman who was in charge of a group of hikers asked if there was a toilet in the heritage centre.
The group had followed the signs to local toilets only to find them closed. I know the toilets were vandalised but that was the best part of a year ago.
I am told the problem is to do with insurance and Fife Council, and the toilets won’t be open for a few months yet.
The summer will be over by then. At a time when tourism is the main source of revenue, is it asking too much of whoever is responsible to get a move on?
Philip Hughes.23 Station Road,St. Monans.Harriers are a great lossSir, The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, has criticised the scrapping of HMS Ark Royal and disbandment of the Harrier fleet.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox says the defence and security review is not being reopened.
He added that Harriers had served with distinction over a long period and in a number of theatres, but they were not going to be brought back into service.
Government spokesmen have also deepened these divisions by insisting the presence of an aircraft carrier (or, more correctly, through deck cruiser) with Harrier jump jets for Libyan operations would make little difference, due to the Harriers’ reduced weapon delivery capabilities.
These statements have been totally misleading and have ignored the proven, fundamental abilities of the aircraft in separate roles.
Furthermore, the Harrier had that unique ability of being able to match its speed to the relevance of the target or target environment, something no other weapons platform to date can perform.
The government’s reactions to the opinions expressed by those with extensive military experience smacks of desperation.
Ian Dewar.2 Thompson Drive,Middleton on the Wolds.Help wanted in MonifiethSir, Monifieth residents have found progress in the provision of a community centre very slow.
Angus Council has now pledged £300,000 towards a purpose-built community resource activities centre, with the tentative offer of three council-owned sites.
This offer was timescaled to the group having the planning permission and finance before March 2013.
Funding is now necessary for a feasibility study.
As a temporary measure, a portable cabin was leased from the council within the grounds of Invertay House.
The community cabin, was in a very dilapidated condition.
With the help of a £4968 grant from the council, it was decided to refurbish the building.
The cabin has proved to be a successful stop gap in providing a meeting place to hold restricted activities.
Organisations describe it as “wonderful place to meet until the new place is built”.
It is up to the residents of Monifieth. Support is needed.
We have over 200 members, let’s hear from them.
Margaret Copland.Community Cabin.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.