Readers' Letters: Inquiry a chance to look at all end of life care

Robin McAlpine, in his article “Scotland’s grouse moor problem. How feudal land ownership is holding back capitalist entrepreneurs” (Scotsman August 11) makes a plea for yet more land reform in Scotland.

Yellow ribbons are tied to trees in the garden of a Marie Curie hospice for March's National Day of Reflection on the first anniversary of the day Britain entered Covid lockdown (Photo by Polly Thomas/Getty Images)

People who have died of cancer, dementia, motor neurone disease, ie not from Covid, during the pandemic have also struggled, particularly in their own homes, to get the care they need. Many have died in pain and their loved ones have missed out on vital bereavement support.

The Scottish Government cannot let this become the norm in future when there will be nearly 16 per cent more deaths in Scotland in the next 20 years, taking the annual figure to 65,756.

The inquiry must, of course, look at pandemic preparedness and assess the government’s key decisions, but it also provides a chance to ensure the end of life care system in Scotland is fit for the future. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Please don’t throw it away.

Richard Meade, Head of Policy and Public Affairs Scotland, Marie Curie

Bluster and tripe

No doubt yesterday’s front page headline, “Scottish Government unveils £1bn package to address healthcare issues”, had the hearts of your SNP supporting contributors pumping with pride.

Unfortunately, when one digs into the detail, it is nothing more than the usual bluster and tripe which this Government have become experts at throwing out in times of need.

Without going over every bit of this tawdry document, the most obvious piece of spin is the capacity increase of 10 per cent over the next five years.

Is the same expansion of capacity to be completed within a year, as was pledged by Nicola Sturgeon in April as part of her election campaign?

Add to that the dissenting voices from every medical professional body about the shortcomings and the fact they cannot see it working and I think we have the usual soundbite drivel we have come to expect on a daily basis over the last 14 years.

And then we have the fact that in England the Government is about to start vaccinations for the over-12s – meanwhile we are still weeks away from a vaccine app because of the pig-headed attitude of the SNP in not accepting a ready made working app already in use in the rest of the UK.

This Government does nothing for the people it is allegedly elected to serve; all it does is serve its own agenda, trying to keep on side the faithful and the end-game target – independence.

If anyone wants a realistic prediction of how our NHS is going to work, look no further than the state of Police Scotland – since its inception it has been nothing more than a costcutting exercise, with services trashed and response times both to phone calls on 101 and to incidents in the community in a mess.

This is not a reflection on police officers, but on the SNP Government and their consummate skill in destroying everything they come close to.

In any other modern society, this lot would have been consigned to the scrap heap years ago.

David Millar, Lauder, Berwickshire

RIP Greens

Can someone please enlighten me as to the new meaning of the name “Green Party”? Until very recently I was under the impression it meant the Green Party cared about nature, the world’s environment and its climate, and wanted to act on that care to protect the planet and the wellbeing of people wherever they live upon it.

Although the Green Party cannot be expected to save the planet and all humankind on its own, it never occurred to me that its ideals of sustainability and climate action could have political borders.

Alas, Patrick Harvie and the Scottish Green Party have just confirmed by joining the SNP that their main concern is not the environment, but the gaining of political power and status for themselves. It seems to me we no longer have an environmental party in Scotland, just an expanded Scottish National Party, the sole objective of which is to create a new political border in the world.

Julia Scott, Roslin, Midlothian

It’s oh so quiet

For over 18 months the Scottish media (The Scotsman included) have had a love-in with Nicola Sturgeon and we have had positive headline after positive headline when things are apparently “going well”. Yet, same media are remarkably quiet when things are not so good.

On Tuesday (24 August) we had our highest daily rate ever of 4,323 cases. Even higher than a few weeks back when Scotland was “Covid capital of Europe” and our three leaders on the Covid front – Sturgeon, Swinney and Yousaf – were all on holiday at the same time with not a peep heard from any of them.

Similarly, no Scottish media was baying for answers or leadership.

On Wednesday we surpassed 5,000 cases in a day. Not a single headline in the Scotsman. Only a passing reference in Jane Bradley’s article on 26 August about GPs face-to-face plan. Why is the Scottish media reticent to report “without fear or favour”? If Ms Sturgeon is contemplating re-introducing restrictions, perhaps the public ought to know why? And if that means “negative” headlines against the First Minister, so be it. She seems to enjoy any praise. She must also accept accountability and responsibility.

Andy May, Edinburgh

What next?

One minute we are reading about drones flying over Scotland to spot potholes on our roads as if motorists and cyclists don’t report perils causing punctured tyres and damaged wheel trims or worse. Then we read that because transport is a devolved function the Scottish Transport Cabinet Secretary can ignore £20 million available from Westminster for improving roads throughout the UK. Road communications in Scotland are important between north and south and east and west – not forgetting the costs of those ferries to connect with the isles!

Meanwhile, Scotland’s Public Expenditure debt has grown to almost £40 billion and Scots taxpayers pay more and now even have to fork out over a quarter of a million pounds for two extra junior Green Ministers and it is yet to be shown how they will justify their existence.

Jim Craigen, Edinburgh

Cold facts

Malcom Parkin asks how much heat must be removed to save the Arctic ice (Letters, 24 August). This is an excellent question. We have a number for the rate of ice lost from the PIOMAS model which has been checked by submarine observations. The loss rate is 25,000 tonnes a second. We know the density and latent heat of ice. This gives the number of joules over the melt year as 2.4 times 10 to the 20. The world annual input of solar energy is about 9,000 times total human energy use in all forms. To cancel ice loss during a month either side of the summer solstice we would need to increase Arctic cloud reflectivity by about 1.8%. People are surprised that for a short time there is more solar energy going into the North Pole than into the equator.

Stephen Salter, Emeritus Professor of Engineering Design, School of EngineeringEdinburgh

Details please

If Leah Gunn Barrett (Letters, 26 August) could back her wish for Scottish independence with some figures, her arguments would enjoy some credibility. For most people, facts will be preferable to emotion when the time comes to vote on the matter.

Malcolm Parkin, Kinross Perth and Kinross

Privet eye

Laura Waddell’s article misses another area where pedestrians rights have been overlooked - hedges (Perspective, 26 August). With the onset of the pandemic one became more conscious of hedges when trying to self distance while walking . In residential areas it is a major problem and in our area you can hardly walk 200 yards abreast before encountering the dreaded protruding hedge.

Highlighting one particular problem in an email to the council asking for a notice to be issued where there is a thick beech hedge in a house opposite a primary school that protrudes just over 3ft over the pavement, the reply was that it was not a road safety issue. Taking the matter up with the area councillor and also our local MSP, achieved absolutely nothing, bringing just the usual platitudes. The council have the power to issue a notice compelling a householder to cut their hedge back to within their boundary and in respect of a tree there is a minimum height over a pavement.

Householders, act please, and garden contractors, please remind householders of their statutory obligations

Robin Jack, Edinburgh

Open roads

The media is constantly telling us that our supply chain is being threatened by a shortage of HGV drivers, The Covid measures, government furlough, and mobile phone apps have all contributed to many drivers staying at home, to help prevent the spread of the pandemic. While it is necessary for obvious reasons to have professionals driving heavy vehicles, we also need to look at alternatives. Some companies are buying vans which can be driven by car licence holders, but we should also consider relaxing the HGV rules on the lowest level of lorry tonnage, to allow car licence holders to drive. The rules would be changed as drivers would need training, speed would be limited to 40 mph, and they would not be allowed to drive in bad weather.

We need to match the expertise of the scientists who made the vaccine, and think of some means to resolve each problem, rather than merely accepting we have a problem.

James Macintyre, Linlithgow, West Lothian

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