Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, – With reference to ‘Mother’s anger at centre’ in The Courier (April 25), I totally disagree with the mother of the 13-year-old boy who burned his hand after squeezing the ice and salt in the palm of his hand.
Carnoustie Health Centre or, to give it its correct title, Parkview Primary Care Centre is most certainly not a ”joke”. Neither does it provide a ”shoddy service” or treat patients like ‘spongers’.
In my experience, all of the staff at the centre provide excellent levels of service.
To improve its service, the practice has introduced doctor and nurse appointment sessions outside its normal core hours of 8am-6pm.
Patients who cannot attend an appointment can call a doctor or nurse and are given the necessary professional advice.
Patients who request to be seen on the same day are asked to attend the surgery later that day, offered self-care advice or provided with a prescription.
By any definition, these actions cannot be labelled as a ”joke” or ”shoddy service”.
Perhaps the mother should raise the matter of her son’s self-inflicted burns with the educational authorities for allowing them to happen whilst he was in their charge, and ascertain whether or not he was bullied into it.
The alleged degree of his burns would seem to suggest that his hand was being held shut for a period of time. The natural reaction on feeling the burn would be to open one’s hand immediately.
With reference to the dressing of the burns, I am sure that someone who has had a ”bit of first-aid training due to her job” would recognise it is not always appropriate to apply gel-type dressings or plasters to clean-looking burns.
While appreciating the mother’s concern that her son would be ”scarred for life”, evidence suggests that burns of this type will heal in around 14 days, leaving minimal scarring.
Ronald Macdonald.28 Church Street,Carnoustie.
Consultation leaves plenty to be desired
Sir, – Over the last few months there have been many complaints of Fife Council’s poor consultation practices, such as the St Andrews and East Fife local plan and the swimming pool and traffic lights replacing the roundabout next to the Adam Smith Theatre in Kirkcaldy.
In Burntisland, complaints have been made over the inadequate consultation before the council’s decision to build a primary school on 4.5 acres of the town’s most central and well-used greenspace.
The council claims that this process met statutory guidelines.
Unfortunately, its consultation method is to tell you what it plans to do and ignore any opposing viewpoints.
On the few occasions when residents were consulted, it was clear that the majority view was for a new school but not on the Toll Park.
Despite this and the fact that there are other viable brownfield locations, the council proceeded with a vote that restricted the choice to either a new school on the Toll Park or refurbishment of the existing school.
Voting slips were available for the school parent council, which has campaigned for the Toll Park.
For residents with no connection to the school, voting slips were not provided.
The parent council did a good job of maximising the vote for their preference and ensured it was in favour of a new school on the Toll Park.
For such a major decision, voting slips should have been provided to all residents.
Of course, had this been done, the council would have risked not getting the result it wanted.
Ian McKenzie.11 Greenmount Road North,Burntisland.
Toto, we’re not in Lochee any more…
Sir, – I am writing in defence of George Galloway’s comments about Lochee being a slum.
In the 1930s and ’40s most of Dundee, not just Lochee, was a slum. The tenements that grew up around the jute mills were all overcrowded, with no toilets or bathrooms.
If you wanted a bath you had to go to a steamie. Can you imagine what it was like on a Friday night?
This was the way most of the people of Dundee lived and we didn’t know any better.
When I left Dundee in 1954 for England, I was like Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz I left a dirty black-and-white city and arrived in a place of full Technicolor. Working-class people owned their own houses with gardens not to mention bathrooms.
Like George Galloway, I too am proud of Dundee and what it did for me, but I can never forget the bad side of Dundee.
In England some of the large employers built beautiful villages for their workers, like Port Sunlight, created by William Hesketh Lever for his Sunlight Soap factory workers being a perfect example.
What did the Dundee jute barons do for Dundee? Gifted Baxter Park.
I hope some of the older Courier readers can send in their memories.
George Gavine.The Veldt,Monikie,Angus.
A different experience
Sir, – While not qualified to comment on understaffing or otherwise at Dundee Airport, I feel I must support Angus Fordyce regarding lack of support and publicity over the years.
Although infrequent flyers, by booking well in advance we managed to fly at minimum cost from Dundee to London a few weeks ago, partly to commemorate flying with British Eagle into Dundee’s grass airstrip in the 1960s, with the pilot of the Dove putting in a personal appearance to address the passengers before taking off from Glasgow the fare, £2.50 for a single.
With a 15-minute check-in at both Dundee and London, and driving off from Dundee Airport just 10 minutes after touching down, I would encourage anyone who can to give the various routes from Dundee a try an experience which is completely different from any of the major airports.
John Crichton.Northampton Place,Forfar.
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. Letters should be accompanied by an address and a daytime telephone number.