YP Letters: Jeremy Corbyn has much to learn over tactics at PMQs

JEREMY Corbyn’s miserable appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions (The Yorkshire Post, January 7) again proves that the Labour leader has a lot to learn about parliamentary tactics.

Making important and relevant points about the problems from flooding which have affected the country, particularly in the North, he persisted in pressing David Cameron for answers to the questions which the Prime Minister would not, allowing the Tory leader to mock Labour’s drawn out reshuffle.

Hearing Conservative backbenchers whooping with joy and seeing Cameron’s smug and self-satisfied smirk, Corbyn should have hit back, asking if the misery and damage caused by the floods was an occasion for merriment for the ruling party.

Did they feel no compassion for the people who had lost homes and businesses? Did not their hearts go out to the schoolchildren scared and traumatised whilst travelling in a coach which was almost submerged in an over-flowing ditch near a North Yorkshire village?

Corbyn must not miss opportunities to belittle Cameron, and show that the old Etonian “Bullingdon boy”, like a leopard, has not changed his spots. He still cares little for the public he represents.

From: Terry Palmer, South Lea Avenue, Hoyland, Barnsley.

WITH Jeremy Corbyn in charge, no wonder “call me Dave” always has a smirk on his face knowing full well the Tories are safe in power until at least 2030, unless Labour elect a new leader.

Look at options for hospital

From: Coun Paul Doughty, Conservative, Strensall ward, Chair, Health and Adult Social Care Policy & Scrutiny Committee, City of York Council.

IT has taken the Care Quality Commission three months to publish their findings that led to the sudden closure of Bootham Park Hospital. Given the significant impact this had on local residents, and subsequent uncertainty about the future of the building, it is surprising to discover the majority of their concerns stem not from the fabric of the building, as we have been led to believe, but more from routine management issues that appear to have been neglected previously.

A leaking toilet, water that was too hot, poor maintenance, low levels of staffing, failure to follow procedures. Issues like these are not caused by the building itself but rather by poor practice, management and accountability.

The main building issue they raised related to ligature points. Most hospitals/buildings have them. The director of nursing for the previous provider claims that “work in 2014 removed all obvious ligature points”. Who do we believe? This aside, risk is managed by ensuring you have the right staffing levels.

Is Bootham Park Hospital an effective therapeutic environment? Maybe. I believe we need to see a full options appraisal on how future provision might look. If Bootham Park can be safely reopened, it should be, rather than leaving York residents with an interim “solution”.

We must wake up to care crisis

From: Mike Padgham, Chair, Independent Care Group (York and North Yorkshire), Eastfield House, Scarborough.

IT can be no surprise that bed-blocking cost Yorkshire hospitals a huge £32m last year (The Yorkshire Post, January 2).

Cuts to social care budgets – some £4.5bn in five years – means there are fewer care home places and less care for people in their own home.

It is inevitable that people end up having to stay in hospital, costing a huge amount of money and depriving someone else in need of that hospital bed.

The country has to wake up to the fact that we aren’t looking after our older and vulnerable adults properly. Their quality of later life is suffering and we are seeing these mountainous debts for hospital care growing daily.

This cannot go on and must be addressed as a priority for 2016.

We must fund social care better and merge health and social care into one, coherent department that cares for our nation’s health and social care, from the cradle to the grave.

Every pound spent on looking after someone in their own home, in a care home or through day care should be viewed as an investment in their quality of life – and in preventing them from having to be cared for in costly hospital beds instead.

From: GF McWilliam, Ossett.

HOW heartily I agree with the sentiments expressed by Mr David Lee (The Yorkshire Post, December 30) re the blame for the NHS problems, financial and otherwise, being attributed to our “ageing population”.

The one point he did not fully emphasise was that this increase in life expectancy was entirely predictable and provision should have been made years ago.

From: Anthony Hopkins, Guiseley.

THE strike call by junior doctors appears to be led by a militant left-wing infiltrated BMA.

Doubtless individual strikers are motivated by high moral principles and for this reason will stick rigidly to preserving picket lines outside hospitals and particularly A&E departments.

It is therefore reasonable to assume, should medical disasters befall those on strike, they will be refused admission for treatment until such times as the strike is ended and thus not creating strain upon those staff seeking to cover for the strikers.