Sir, – A petition calling for the reinstatement of the out of hours GP services at St Andrews Hospital has gained almost 6,000 signatures – a high number from this community in less than a month.
Our local GPs branded the move to stop the service an unacceptable loss of local services that would threaten patient safety and impact most profoundly on elderly people and families with young children.
Students from St Andrews University, many of whom live in our local community here in Cameron, want the service to continue.
The journey to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy will be made out of hours in the dark, in private cars coming from remote areas.
Some 70% of income from tourism for Fife comes from St Andrews and the immediate surrounding area.
It seems incredible that Fife Council could shut down any local service that might jeopardise the medical cover available in an area which generates so much income for the whole of Fife.
I would strongly support an initiative that ring fences a budget for essential services locally.
Fife Council has lost its way on this issue.
They would rather give every resident in Fife another refuse bin to fill and be seen to be very green than deal with the health needs of its residents and visitors.
As chairman of Cameron Community Council, our message is: “Please change your decision and reinstate the much needed out of hours GP service at St Andrews’ hospital”.
John Picken.
Priorletham Farm,
St Andrews.
Sad indictment of time in power
Sir, – It has been revealed that the number of takeaway establishments has soared, doubling in some of our poorest areas (“Fears over rise in takeaways”, Courier, October 24).
In recent years, the only time I remember Scotland making headline news in the USA was when a Border’s chippie introduced the Crème Egg version of our emblematic deep-fried Mars bar.
Such totems of ill health, obesity and high-fat diets, along with the huge increase in the fast food outlets which produce them, are likely to be the real legacy of the SNP’s decade in power.
Rev Dr John Cameron.
10 Howard Place,
St Andrews.
Failure to tackle the big issue
Sir, – Your letters page carried a strong defence of St Andrews University’s regional role in serving the whole of Fife made, by the head of its slick PR operation.
This debate has arisen because of a laughable recent claim by Principal Mapstone that the university “aspires to be a leading light in equality and diversity” and subsequent criticisms that St Andrews does not adequately serve Scotland’s third largest local authority, Fife, as the kingdom’s sole higher education body.
That St Andrews is a qualified success story is without doubt. But when their communications head accuses others of “perpetuating myth”, that needs to be treated with extreme caution.
For example, his defence neatly sidesteps the basic criticism that the whole of Fife, not just the privileged immediate St Andrews bubble, should be benefitting in various respects from a world renown academic institution operating in its midst.
Higher education institutions are significant economic generators everywhere so I would seriously question whether more than a fraction of those jobs supported by its economic footprint are located beyond a five-mile radius of the town.
The university’s contribution in assisting schools came across as both modest and again, with no indication of its wider reach beyond North Fife.
Even “evidence” of a regional role such as the university’s sizeable investment in Guardridge can be seen as directly serving the university’s own enterprise in the limited St Andrews bubble in the same way the Byre, Madras College and others have or are becoming part of its necessary real estate.
The claim to rely on small amounts of public finances (16%) is slightly disingenuous and around the industry standard.
Many decades of public investment have contributed to the current expanded enterprise and, like privatised public utilities, the university cannot exclude the public role and duty which has helped create its current situation
I would be interested to know of any significant concrete university activity which impacts directly on disadvantaged mid-Fife where the majority of the county’s population live.
It’s great to see locally-based bodies prosper and St Andrews University clearly does many things well. However, unless it can generate benefit more equally across its Fife hinterland, maybe Fife needs a new, more centrally-located university which does.
Stuart McIntosh.
Kirkland Walk,
Methil.
Cups are plant, not plastic
Sir, – I would like to address points raised in a recent letter regarding disposable cups used by V&A Dundee (Letters, October 16).
It is important to clarify that all catering disposables used in the museum café are made from plants and not plastic.
This includes the cups and straws referred to by your reader.
After use all of these plant-based items – made from renewable, lower carbon or recycled materials by the company Vegware – are composted.
As a design museum we take environmental considerations very seriously.
Indeed, we are fully committed to being a sustainable organisation.
Simon Boyd.
V&A Dundee General Manager of Building Operations,
Waterfront,
Dundee.
Silence was surprising
Sir, – Last Friday the main story on BBC Scotland’s TV News was about a Police Scotland inspector emailing to say he didn’t want two female firearms officers on the same incident.
No doubt this is a serious internal issue but did it really warrant five minutes of reporting, including Humza Yousaf virtue signalling that the language used in the email was “just utterly unacceptable”?
Especially since, on the same day, it was reported that 40,000 Scottish public sector employees had been assaulted by members of the public?
There wasn’t a cheep about that.
However, this is surely a much bigger issue that seriously affects people’s lives and livelihoods.
I would like to know why both Mr Yousaf, custodian of many of the judicial “levers” required to fix this, or the BBC remained silent with regard to this important matter.
Allan Sutherland.
1 Willow Row,
Stonehaven.
UK is far more inclusive
Sir, – In a delicious irony, it has been reported (by the website Politico) that ethnic diversity among MEPs will plummet on Brexit, as eight of the 17 non-white MEPs are from the UK.
With only nine of 678 surviving MEPs being non-white, the European parliament will lack ethnic minority voices.
These figures refute the conventional narrative of a racist Britain and a forward-looking EU. The reality is, of course, quite the opposite.
Otto Inglis.
6 Inveralmond Grove,
Edinburgh.
Air pollution a very real danger
Sir, – Again Charles Wardrop downplays the health effects of air pollution (Letters, October 24) and his use of phrases, such as “unlike ‘real’ deaths” is insensitive. These are real deaths.
I consulted the website for the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants – the official body that advises the government on the health effects of air pollutants.
It has said that, for those most affected, the result may be around a decade of life lost.
Obviously, if you spread this across the whole population you can statistically massage this down to the good doctor’s “mere few weeks”.
Reducing vehicles’ contribution to air pollution is a good thing, regardless of any proposed city centre car ban.
Can I suggest looking at the city of Groningen, Netherlands?
They have enjoyed considerable success, not by simply banning cars but by dividing the centre into four segments that you can’t drive cars directly between. It is interesting to note that almost 60% of journeys there are now made by bike.
Gordon Pay.
Eden Park,
Cupar.
