YEP Letters: January 28

Check out today's YEP letters
Work has started to paint the railway, Lower Briggate, Leeds.25th January 2017 ..Picture by Simon HulmeWork has started to paint the railway, Lower Briggate, Leeds.25th January 2017 ..Picture by Simon Hulme
Work has started to paint the railway, Lower Briggate, Leeds.25th January 2017 ..Picture by Simon Hulme

Forget the fancy paint jobs

Martin McFadden, Drighlington

Yes, we’ll paint the iron bridge in Lower Briggate pretty colours, “City shows pride, as rainbow makeover begins” (YEP January 26)

“Agreed upon to show support for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.” What about the DFDA - Disgusting Filthy Dark Arches?

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You couldn’t make this up! Forget fancy paint jobs, just provide all pedestrians with gas masks and rose coloured glasses.

Bed cuts mean hard work is for nothing

Paul Muller, Wakefield

THE doctors and nurses in the NHS have been well trained to do the job.

They also have all the equipment to help and cure their patients. The only thing they have not got is the number of beds in which to place their patients. For some reason that I do not understand, half of the hospital beds have been closed by the management. This has meant that the nurses who ran those wards have lost their jobs.

Now surprise, surprise, we have insufficient nurses and beds for the sick and elderly.

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These patients over 75 are called ‘bed blockers’. I find this very offensive because I am in my 80th year. I started working in the Health Service in 1966 and have seen, and been involved with, the improvements in the treatment of patients. I have seen them live longer and happier lives. The elderly are then blamed for having, and living with, multiple diseases that some doctors find difficult to deal with.

All the closed beds on wards in the hospitals must be reopened so that seriously-ill patients can be admitted in a timely fashion and so that the A&E departments can be cleared for the next lot of ill patients.

The present A&E department can be likened to a bicycle that has lost its chain. The doctors and nurses are working like fury, but getting nowhere.

Social care for the elderly has completely broken down. Care homes are closing because the councils do not have enough money to give carers a proper salary.

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We must adopt a separate tax for our care in old age when we become infirm.

There are now insufficient nurses in hospitals and care homes. In order to solve this acute problem, we must go back several years when 17 and 18-year-old teenagers were enrolled into the NHS as pupil nurses, SEN and SRN. These young teenagers can rapidly assist the qualified nurses on the wards where they will be taught how to care and speak to the sick and elderly. Some will want to work in care homes, where they must have a good salary commensurate with the importance of their job.

General practice must be reordered so that medical centres again look after their patients 24/7. An open door policy is not a bad idea. No more waiting lists. GPs could again do domicilaries for the seriously-ill and dying patients. This could all be organised on a rota basis between several practices.

Finally massive efficiency savings could be gained by a reduction in NHS managers. Most are incompetent and have run the NHS into bankruptcy.

Tread carefully over NHS

Judy Goodwin, Altofts

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Why when anyone in authority speaks of the crisis in the NHS do they follow it with that old chestnut, and an ageing population.

Why does no one say and an extra four million people added to the country’s population over the past 15 years with no provision made for their health care. Or the disastrous PFI that Labour introduced, saddling hospitals with millions of debt for years to come. I have news for all the politicians and their like, we the aged population are the ones who get up off our backsides at elections and vote. Tread carefully.

Come down to earth, Oliver

Mrs M Naylor, Leeds

Every week we read in the local or national newspapers the crying need for food banks.

Hard to imagine people going hungry in this country. Then we turn to Oliver’s report and find he has blown £140 on a meal for two. £140 on what look like small portions of “cheffy” food.

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I, as a now single pensioner don’t get much more than that per week!

Come down to earth Oliver love and just once take your mate to an affordable restaurant.

Let’s wait and see on Trump

Ernest Lundy, by email

With no real views on the suitability for office of President Donald Trump, I have to wonder why so many in the UK and the States seem to be afraid of him and what he may or may not do.

The fact is symbolised by the reports of his wrong doing, true or false, being put before the electorate, apparently by those supposedly in the know. Or could it be those who may have their own influence diminished by Trump once he makes his presence felt?

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Whatever Mr Trump’s past history may hold, it is certain that previous incumbents of that powerful office have also had skeletons in their cupboards; so therefore it would be nothing new if he is proved to have had a few foibles. Apart from which, on a more general basis how many of us are innocent enough to throw the first stone of disparagement even in our own lives? Can he do better or worse than those who have gone before? Ithink we would do better to wait and see.

Brexit: opinion is shifting

John Cole, Baildon

We “Remainers” who continue to fight against Brexit are frequently told to “move on”.

It is asserted that “the people have spoken” and the result of the June 23rd referendum needs to be acted upon.

Leaving aside for one moment the closeness of the vote (52:48) and the deeply flawed nature of the whole process, the fact is that time itself has “moved on” since last June. Brexiteers cling in an increasingly desperate fashion to their narrow, dated win.

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Since then “buyers remorse” has set in on top of which we have the hundreds of thousands of people who voted “out” thinking “out” would never win and hoping just to give Cameron’s government an incidental kicking.

Polls show that opinion is shifting to “Remain” - hence the “out” desperation. All in all the June 23 result is a very fragile peg on which to hang a constitutional change of historical magnitude.

Our MPs (over 400 of whom voted “Remain” ) would serve us best by putting an end to this hugely distracting nonsense at the earliest opportunity.

Battlefield pilgrimages

John Battye, Castleford

EACH year the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry battlefield tours organise pilgramages to the battle areas of the First World War. The tours are in August and September.

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This year we plan to visit the Somme battlefields, the Ypres Salient, Arras, Vimy Ridge and Loos battlefield if requested.

This year 100 years ago battles that raged were the third battle of Ypres (Passchendale), Arras, Vimy Ridge, Messines and Cambrai.

The trips specialise in visiting specific cemeteries or memorials on the above mentioned battlefields as and when they are requested.

An experienced battlefield guide will accompany each trip, to commemorate on the various battles and the many historic events that occurred in the areas that we visit, we can also assist people in the tracing of war graves from the First World War.

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The KOYLI battlefield pilgrimages was formed as a charitable hobby in 1990 by ex-servicemen who have many years of practical experience in conducting visits to the First World War battlefield areas of France and Flanders and we support the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and other institutions. These trips are open to anyone who might be interested and we welcome all enquiries. For more information write to John Battye, 32 Rhodes Street, Hightown, Castleford WF10 5LL or telephone 01977 734614. We ask for a medium sized SAE for all postal replies.

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