Diagnosis danger

IN RESPONSE to Dr Alan Rodger’s concerns (Letters 4 April) about the parlous state of oncology treatment in Scotland, it may be worth considering what effect official attitudes may have on this problem.

We have a crackpot organisation called Nuclear Free Local Authorities, which logically must include in its remit opposition to all forms of nuclear medicine, even X-rays .

This scare-mongering extends to the Scottish Government. Last year we had Alex Salmond signing with a flourish a letter of complaint to the UK government that the Scottish Government had not been informed of a “serious” incident at Dounreay (actually it had, through Sepa, and it was a very minor affair). On television this same almost trivial incident was compared for all the world to hear to Fukushima by a young idiot in the Scottish Government, and we seem to have had pages of overblown coverage of Gordon Brown’s concerns about some radioactive particles on a Scottish beach.

Couldn’t all of this stuff have some bearing on the serious shortage of staff in oncology departments which so concerns Dr Rodger ?

(DR) A McCORMICK

Kirkland Road

Terregles, Dumfries