Sir, – I simply cannot believe the persistence of wanting to build a new football stadium for Aberdeen at a cost of £80 million (probably more) and wanting to use taxpayers’ cash – it is absolutely unbelievable.
There were 1,200 people apparently who responded to the poll last week out of a population of 200,680 in Aberdeen, so what does that tell us?
Many people have far more worries on their minds just now other than think about a new football stadium for the Dons – it’s a joke.
Mortgages, heating, groceries, families just trying to survive in this worrying world we are trying to live in – who on this planet would vote for a football stadium when the projects being done are still unfinished?
Shops, cinemas, hotels and public houses are still closing down and Union Street is still sadness itself. We need to get through this frightening period in our lives before we dream about a new football stadium.
Grannie Annie
Scottish Government policy damaging health of GP practices
Sir, – I wonder how many of your readers are concerned about their local GP practice and what might happen if further austerity plans are introduced by the Westminster government.
I also wonder how many know that more than £10 million allocated to GP practices in Grampian last year to implement the Primary Care Improvement Plan was left underspent and has been clawed back by the Scottish Government to roll over into this year’s budget.
The plan, which was primarily to free up GP appointments by using other healthcare professionals in practices, such as pharmacy, advanced nurse practitioners and physios, has failed to recruit in sufficient numbers because, like general practitioners, there are not enough of them either.
Not only that, but the sustainability fund that was made available to practices to acknowledge the failure to implement the plan, has also been reduced.
So let’s not just focus on the austerity yet to come, general practice is already being punished.
Next time your readers hear of a local practice handing back its contract to NHS Grampian, perhaps wonder at what might have happened if the Scottish Government had placed more value on primary care.
Dr Pilar Murphy, Ellon Medical Group, Ellon.
Access to palliative care must be equal
Sir, – Public Health Scotland’s figures released last week have shown that people in the most deprived areas are 74% more likely to die from cancer. This is shocking, but sadly not surprising.
At Marie Curie Scotland, we know that living in deprived areas worsens health outcomes for terminally ill people. This is often because of long-standing health inequalities and inequities around access to palliative care support.
Those living in socio-economically deprived areas are less likely to come forward for support, and this was exacerbated during the pandemic when health and social care services were overwhelmed.
The impact of the pandemic led to changes, delays, or cancellations of treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and as a result there has been an increased risk of cancer diagnoses becoming terminal.
Palliative care demand is also rising sharply, with Marie Curie research revealing that by 2040, up to 95% of all people who die in Scotland may need palliative care.
The number of people dying from more than one terminal condition, such as cancer and organ failure for example, will also have risen by 80% by 2040. As a result, disease trajectories will be more complex, and this means different and sometimes increased palliative care needs.
There is greater need for the co-ordination of relevant health and social care services.
The Scottish Government’s upcoming cancer strategy must ensure palliative care is fully integrated in the long term, and prioritised in the short term, to manage a potential increase in demand in palliative care services.
Finally, the cancer strategy’s priorities must also align with the Scottish Government’s upcoming palliative care strategy and National Care Service to ensure equity of access to palliative care, through an inclusive health approach, to ensure that vulnerable and socially-excluded groups can access the support that they need.
Only then will we be able to break the link between poverty and poor health outcomes in Scotland.
Ellie Wagstaff, senior policy manager, Scotland, Marie Curie.
Lessons from past to cope with future
Sir, – Amid the dark clouds of financial gloom, a ray of light shone through in the shape of Don McKay’s letter – an 80-year-old with a positive view that the assistance he has received from the government will see him beyond the winter months.
He has a realistic and uncomplaining attitude that should be followed by those who believe the support should allow them to live life as before the war in Ukraine caused the global energy price to soar. But we only import a small amount of energy from Russia say those who, for political reasons, conveniently forget the UK buys energy on the global market.
Even if a general election was held, leading to a Labour government, they face the same problems as the woeful lot now in charge. I’ve been around long enough to realise most of the promises from any political party are no more than wishful thinking, praying that the ball on the roulette wheel falls into place.
As the cold days of winter approach, instead of more government aid, be grateful like Mr McKay for what we have received – our grandchildren already face the enormous tax burden for all the handouts.
Remembering lessons from an era of greater hardship I will look out a few warm jerseys, and my old friend the hot water bottle, wrapped in a pillowcase, remains warm for hours – childhood lessons still relevant after 80 years.
Ivan W Reid, Kirkburn, Laurencekirk.
Get your booster
Sir, – Diabetes Scotland is urging everyone with the condition to book their free flu jab and Covid-19 booster to protect themselves and others this winter.
People with diabetes have a higher risk of becoming seriously ill if they develop Covid-19. In addition, flu can be incredibly serious.
People living with diabetes are particularly vulnerable to serious complications if they get Covid-19 or flu which can make it harder to manage, causing blood sugar levels to rise dangerously high.
With Covid cases rising once more, it’s important people with diabetes stay well and out of hospital.
Find out more at diabetes.org.uk/flu-jab
Angela Mitchell, National Director, Diabetes Scotland
Unionists need to be pulling together
Sir, – While our first minister continues to focus on separation our NHS is crumbling.
We are now hearing of underspending to the tune of £650 million in the last fiscal year, money that was allocated but has not been distributed to the points of need, all at a time when people are suffering and looking for real accountable leadership and not the smoke and mirrors we are fed on an almost daily basis.
Our SNP-Green government is banging on about the future threat of more Tory-led austerity.
Yes, a concern, but how on earth can we take them seriously if they continually fail to get their own house in order? The opposition parties have called for routes to help people to be explored and a cost of living support scheme created but this appears to have been dismissed, at a time when children are going hungry and pensioners cannot afford to switch their heating on.
We are realising what is a gross abuse of the Scotland Act, which requires devolved nations’ deficits to be bailed out by the UK.
Thankfully the UK has stepped in year on year, which it certainly won’t do if Scotland was to break away from the UK.
Let us not forget that back in 2020-21, in the potential absence of UK support, Scotland was unable to foot the bill to extend furlough on its own.
While I agree that front-line key workers within the NHS are hugely undervalued, this lack of allocated spending is in fact another slap in the face. We need to see real investment and commitment to reverse the failures created on their watch.
We have seen more than a decade of failures within the fully devolved NHS and education sectors, yet they are so disorganised, incompetent and fixated with separation that these available funds go unspent – all we are offered is diversion and blame to the past months’ chaos in Westminster which is a feeble attempt to divert attention and hide the truth while hoping to buy support.
It’s time that all unionists, our new prime minister and his Cabinet came together and collectively pulled us out of three years of misery in a planned sustainable manner.
It’s time for hard decisions and collective cohesion.
Do we really want to suffer another decade of unaffordable division-fuelled SNP policies destroying our great nation?
I know I don’t.
Conrad Ritchie, St Combs, Aberdeenshire.
Throwing fuel on Ukraine flames
Sir, – It was a relief to read a letter in The P&J by Jonathan Russell expressing some common sense.
Will our politicians follow his advice? Sadly, I fear not.
The Westminster government grabs an easy Tory crowd-pleaser by saying they will “support” Ukraine.
Grown-up support would be to encourage compromise on both sides and a move towards a negotiated settlement. Instead they throw petrol on the flames by supplying arms.
No one will win this war, we will all lose, and we could lose everything if nuclear weapons are used. It is a very real threat.
During the Cuban Crisis we were very afraid.
Why aren’t more people questioning what is happening in Ukraine?
All our lives are at risk. Even the detonation of a single nuclear bomb would not only kill many people and pollute the local area for centuries to come but its effect on the climate would be disastrous.
Wasting our skills and resources on making weapons is madness.
Let us show the world that there is a better way to live.
We are not helping Ukraine.
We are killing people.
Gwyn and Andy Hinton, Victoria Terrace, Kemnay.
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