Letters: Better hygiene is required to make hospitals healthier

I was dreading having to go into the ERI to have knee replacements last year, but I was offered the surgery at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank. What a difference in attitude! As you walk into the main entrance, there is a huge yellow hand washing station with notices insisting that everyone uses it before going any further. Every few metres in the public areas there are smaller yellow stations urging you to continue doing this. I have never seen such a station at the ERI.

At the pre-admission appointments, all staff who see you use the alcoholic cleanser almost continually. Each patient having elective surgery is tested at these appointments for both MRSA and C-diff, so that special arrangements can be made for anyone carrying the organisms.

Once I was admitted, everyone who came into my room used the gel whenever they came into my room and when they left. The result is that last year, having carried out more than 3,000 surgical procedures, they have not had one single case of Healthcare Associated Infections.

Howard Thompson, Pinkie Hill Crescent, Musselburgh

Adult learners are worried about cuts

WE ARE a group of young adult learners in North Edinburgh, and we are writing to let you know our concerns about the cutback to CLAN (City Literacy and Numeracy) funding in Edinburgh.

Most people in our group have dyslexia. Up till 2009, we were entitled to one-to-one support with a youth literacy worker, to give us extra support with this problem. This was brilliant; it was tailored to our own needs, and also helped us move on into college, volunteering or jobs.

There was a problem because after the age of 25 we'd lose this support. This was a shame because dyslexia doesn't get better by itself after 25! However, since 2009, even more serious is that this one-to-one support has been withdrawn for people under 25. Now none of us gets this extra support to help with dyslexia because of funding cuts.

As well as one-to-one support, we are really worried about what it means for adult learners when the funding for their groups is cut. As well as life-long learning, these groups help students with their social skills and confidence. If more groups are cut then we will be back at square one!

In other words, we're worried about what effect the cuts to CLAN funding will have on all students' learning and their lives.

So, we'd like to ask about what's happening to the money that has been cut from the CLAN budget. Is it being diverted to other projects? How can we ensure that the provision of adult learning is not being reduced?

The Young PALS group, Edinburgh

Good news as plots thicken across city

CONGRATULATIONS are due to Edinburgh City Council for its Draft Allotment Strategy (A lot more allotments on way, News, 3 February) which is an example of what all local authorities in Scotland should aspire to.

It recognises the broad social and environmental benefits which allotment gardening brings to its participants and communities, proposing far-reaching solutions to address the long waiting lists.

At the same time, it contains robust recommendations for the support and maintenance of existing allotments.

Jenny Mollison, (Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society), Inveresk Village, East Lothian

Kindness of trio much appreciated

I'D LIKE to thank three kind people who offered practical help when I fell on the pavement on the evening of 29 January:

The kind woman who gave me paper tissues to staunch the blood.

The kind man who phoned for an ambulance and also phoned the council to warn them of the dangerous state of the paving stones.

The second man who went out of his way to tell my friends I wouldn't be coming for the meal.

I will never forget their kindness.

Christa Peake, Wairdlaw, Bathgate

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