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Readers’ letters: Thoughtless passengers already ditching masks

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Sir, — With regard to Covid rules in Scotland changing from March 21, The Press and Journal recently reported that people will still have to wear face masks on public transport.

I travel to and from work by bus and regularly see other passengers without a face mask on. In December 2021, I reported this to Aberdeen City Council environmental health department, only to be told it is not in their remit to investigate the matter.

Some passengers will wear a mask while boarding only to remove it once seated — other people are so brazen they just get on without a mask on. I have never seen a driver refuse anyone because they don’t have a face covering. Is it any wonder cases are rising?

I guess most of these inconsiderate people just don’t care that they have the potential of actually killing someone by their thoughtlessness.

Norman Marr, Grandholm Street, Aberdeen.

Does Keith need a new health centre?

Sir, — Pressure for a new health centre in Keith was reaching fever pitch before the pandemic. Given the new omnipresent financial pressures on all budgets, I wonder whether a new health centre is viable or desirable?

Car parking was always problematic. But with fewer face-to-face consultations, one wonders whether a new-build is really necessary.

The local health centre operates, in effect, as a small business. Any complaints are not dealt with by NHS Grampian. In the first instance, the practice manager and two GP partners investigate themselves if alleged deficiencies have occurred. And mistakes are made. I’ve listened to a formal apology from a GP partner for failures in patient care.

However, if public money were forthcoming to grace Keith with a new “state of the art” health and wellbeing centre, might it be conditional upon an emendation of the GP contract?

In Keith, they do operate, essentially, as a small business remember. A condition could include a duty for doctors to see patients face-to-face and not merely to “consult”.

The latter is the key word, which allows our GPs to “get away” with telephone consultations or diagnoses by Zoom or otherwise on the internet, which many older people can only gawp at. As if!

Bill Maxwell, Mar Place, Keith.

Insulating old homes isn’t so easy

Ian Beattie makes the solution to the energy crisis seem oh so easy. More renewables, less fossil fuels and blame it all on the Tories.

Renewables have a place as an increasing part of the mix, but solar, wind and wave have their own well-documented drawbacks.

He wants Scandinavian- style insulation – who doesn’t? Unfortunately, insulating old houses cannot be done with the stroke of a pen. The SNP/Greens have decreed all houses must reach EPC band C by 2025 or they cannot be sold or rented out, making many thousands of north–east houses (such as my own) unsellable.

To get old houses up to band C level is extremely difficult, expensive and disruptive. It is by no means obvious how to do it and messing with the ventilation of old houses can be catastrophic. The SNP/Greens claim it will cost £17,000 per house. The truth is nearer £70,000. For the vast majority, there will be no financial help.

There is no list of accredited advisers to guide home owners and ensure it is appropriate to their building and does not have materials with a high embodied carbon.

To cap it all, the man appointed to oversee this is Patrick Harvie, a Marxist masquerading as a Green, who has absolutely no relevant experience for such a technical job.

Keith Shortreed, Cottown of Gight, Methlick.