Letters - January 18, 2017

Just seven weeks ago whilst out for a walk with my guide dog, I came upon a van parked on the pavement leaving me just enough room to squeeze past.

Unfortunately, there are metal signs fitted to the lamp posts in the village warning dog owners that if their dog does a mess on the pavement, they must pick it up or be fined.

This sign is at face height, I hit it and sustained a cut to my forehead almost two inches long and it was down to the bone!

I went immediately to the health centre but they couldn’t help and sent me to the hospital where the cut was glued together. It has left quite a scar.

The shock was so severe that I have had to give up my guide dog after 31 years of working with one. I have no confidence at all now.

It was not the dog’s fault, it was the van. Had it not been on the pavement, I would not have had the accident, I will always be very bitter about this, it was totally unnecessary, the street is a very quiet one at all times.

Thank you very much for Rob Atkinson’s article in The Gazette on January 13, I do hope that vehicle drivers in particular read this!

Colin Glover

Via email

HEALTH

Amazing work of hospital workers

As one of the team of Public Governors at the Victoria Hospital Trust we have had the opportunity to hear and see the amazing work of the staff at this time of extreme pressures.

The figures and headlines don’t tell the stories of staff working through holidays, drafting in GPs and staff expecting to be off, trying to ensure patients are cared for and discharged to safe places in order to release the ‘grid lock’ of patients ready to leave with no place to go.

Tired, and under the constant pressure of public scrutiny, staff are still managing to care and achieve professional outcomes for patients.

As the Chairman of Governors tells us: “From January 2 onwards we brought in GPs to support triaging patients and we cancelled all surgery with the exception of Priority 1 and Priority 2 cancer patients and life-threatening conditions (and Ophthalmology which is a separate unit).

“The staff have worked magnificently to manage patients and we have had a significant increase in discharges and management of patients on a daily basis which has resulted in achieving 97.92 per cent today (January 12).”

Now that is worth a headline !

George Holden

Blackpool Public Governor Victoria Hospital Trust

RESPONSE

Thank you for Institute report

I was very happy to read in The Gazette (December 15) about the Layton Institute and what you said about it.

I was, and still am, a life member of the Layton Institute. I was made a member of the Layton in 1971, so I have many happy memories of being in there and happy times. I used to go bowling on the green at the back also, with nice people.

Thanks also for the two lovely photographs of the lovely place.

Jim Clancy

Layton

CRIME

Be aware of social media dangers

Re article in The Gazette ‘North Pier pervert spared prison spell’ on January 13. I have worked for years with victims of crime, studied them, donated for years to their cause.

I am also a member for 30 years of an organisation for victims around the world.

I feel that parents don’t supervise their children on social media enough and find out who they are going to meet up with. It is their responsibility. We are broadcasting intimate details of our lives on facebook etc. We are all becoming enmeshed in social media. The internet is becoming like home to all of us.

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CRIME

Relocate prisoners to jails in Africa

Many years ago we sent prisoners to Australia to help with the overcrowding problem.

We should be considering another such move by building prisons in Africa, which would give much needed employment to people in Africa.

We could afford to do this from our foreign aid budget. I am sure that this would also prove to be a deterrent to prisoners reoffending.

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