Sir, I was disappointed to read your front page article, Millions lost on surgical mistakes, on January 11, where in the first paragraph you say that surgical blunders have cost Fife and Tayside health bosses over £25 million.
If only that were so. Actually, of course, the cost will be borne by the taxpayer. It is highly unlikely that any health boss will be inconvenienced in any way more than the rest of us.
The paragraph should have read: “ . . . will cost the nation’s health budget . . .”.
I was further disappointed this news piece was not partnered by a leader in which you might have opined on the issue of compensation.
This is a tricky matter. Despite what too many have seemed to claim in the past, doctors as well as nurses are human (I think the culture is changing for the better) and so they are bound to make mistakes. We should not be too quick to judge them when one of these (even an apparently crass one) comes to light.
I deplore this compensation culture we have drifted into.
Wherever possible, errors should be corrected but, given that the money really comes out of the public purse, usually “compensation” as such should be token.
It is the demand for excessive compensation which forces doctors and health bosses to adopt a defensive stance and this usually means that the fewest lessons are learned.
What we actually need is a system which encourages all those concerned to make a clean breast of their shortcomings; this is the atmosphere which will best promote improvement.
A C Grant. Alturlie, Freuchie.
Unnecessary waste
Sir, On Friday Courier readers would have been shocked to read that half of all food purchased in Europe and the United States is thrown away uneaten after purchase.
On Thursday you published a photograph of a man throwing no fewer than 14 pies into the air, apparently about to land on the ground. On Saturday we were treated to the revolting spectacle of one of your reporters pushing aside his plate after failing to finish a grossly oversized gimmick dish sold by a pub in St Andrews which should know better.
Now it may be that the pies landed safely on a clean surface outwith the camera shot and were duly consumed. It may also be the case that your reporter took the remains of his meal home and ate it once his stomach had recovered from his earlier bout of gluttony.
However, if not, do you not feel the tiniest bit ashamed at contributing to this disgraceful state of affairs? Especially as another report just published states that some parents are doing without food because they cannot afford to feed both themselves and their children. I wonder what they would think of all that waste?
Jane Ann Liston. 5 Whitehill Terrace, Largo Road, St Andrews.
Not the time for such stunts
Sir, I read with dismay and incredulity the article regarding the promotion of the 7,000-calorie burger meal available at a hostelry in St Andrews.
Firstly, as a health professional I find it disconcerting that this should be promoted at a time when Scottish eating habits have never been worse, with an obesity crisis on our hands and as a result, our already overstretched NHS bearing the brunt. Surely this is not the time for such stunts?
Secondly, as someone working with a third world charity, knowing that every 16 seconds a child dies from a hunger-related cause I find this offensive. Some people may say I am a killjoy, but perhaps the owner of this establishment should take a leaf out of the book of the Canadian restaurant owner who now fines people for leaving food on their plates.
I love good food and eating it is one of life’s great pleasures, but this is one step too far.
Helen Kidd. 16 Nevay Terrace, Dundee.
Rail sympathy slightly diluted
Sir, Our sympathies with passengers faced with yet another above inflation fare hike are slightly diluted by the fact that many who live in Courier country live on the other side of the rail divide.
The 35,000 souls in the largest urban concentration in Scotland unserved by rail, namely Levenmouth, not to mention the 15,000 or so in the East Neuk nearby just don’t have the privilege of easy rail transport, regardless of fare.
We have in place a fully intact rail line linking Leven to Thornton just waiting for 45 years to be reopened, but we’re fairly sure that Scotrail’s promised improvement to services and stations using these enhanced fares will not extend to those of us “beyond the pale”.
A Armstrong. 28 Viewforth, Buckhaven.
Strictly not the case
Sir, Fife councillors are a little optimistic equating the four bin system of waste collection with a faultless performance in “Strictly” (The Courier, January 11).
Maybe they should try waltzing along the bin-festooned streets, or more seriously, put themselves in the position of those with mobility or sight problems, or try steering a pushchair without going onto the road.
R A Wallace. 9 Standalane, Kincardine.