GP surgeries will struggle to fill posts - Yorkshire Post letters

From: Christine Hyde, Scarr End Lane, Dewsbury.
Where will staff for primary care networks come from asks one reader. Photo: Lynne Cameron/PA WireWhere will staff for primary care networks come from asks one reader. Photo: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire
Where will staff for primary care networks come from asks one reader. Photo: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire

I WAS interested to read your articles (The Yorkshire Post, May 11) about the new primary care networks for GP surgeries. The Government says 20,000 people are to be recruited. Where are they going to get them from?

At Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, there are still vacancies for healthcare assistants. Why can’t those posts be filled? The article suggests the primary care network support staff have already been recruited. It’s the usual tactic of promising everything and delivering nothing.

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The 5,000 extra GPs they promised have not been recruited and indeed more have left. In North Kirklees, the “extra” physiotherapists are in reality being removed from Dewsbury Hospital, according to what the North Kirklees CCG said in answer to a question from the public, because GPs can “employ” them directly.

Which GPs? Where? The Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group spokesperson is being paid a handsome salary to tell us, without knowing any of us, our history, our family, our symptoms, anything at all about us, that actually we don’t really need to see a GP, someone else will do. That, I hope you’ll agree, is a very worrying symptom.

From: Mike Padgham, Chair, Independent Care Group, Scarborough.

THE discovery by Age UK of care deserts in England – areas where there are no care or nursing home beds to be had – is a national disgrace.

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Last week Care Minister Caroline Dinenage warned that the long-delayed Green Paper would not solve all the social care problems in this country.

Instead of trying to dampen expectations over it, the Government should get on with publishing the Green Paper immediately and start helping the 1.4 million people who aren’t getting the care they need. We need action now, not promises for the future.

From: Hilary Andrews, Nursery Lane, Leeds.

THE worrying increase in the number of measles cases (The Yorkshire Post, May 17) would easily be solved if children weren’t allowed to start school unless their parent or guardian produced a valid certificate showing the child had been fully vaccinated.

This is common in many European countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Bulgaria and Bosnia. Also in many states in Australia, Canada and all 50 states of the US.

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We are well behind and should legislate soon to remedy this situation. Older people, such as myself, have seen the dire consequences of infection with the measles virus.

Told you so, Mr Grayling

From: Barry Foster, High Stakesby, Whitby.

I COULD not contain my delight when I learned the privatisation of the Probation Service was being halted (The Yorkshire Post, May 16 and 17).

As a former long-time member of the “old” service, the Government and Chris Grayling were told it would be nothing but failure and, without gloating, “we told you so”.

The National Probation Service, as it was then known, had an excellent track record and the move did a lot of damage to a great number of the then staff. I do now hope the Justice Minister gets through the much-needed change, certainly before another election.

Viewers kept Kyle on box

From: Mr PG Willetts, Stockton on Tees.

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I AM astonished at the piece written by Anthony Clavane (The Yorkshire Post, May 17).

Surely, as a journalist and member of the media, he understands that people watching The Jeremy Kyle Show were the “viewing figures” which generated advertising revenue which directly provided the ongoing funding for the show?

To complain that it had “been allowed to run for 14 years” when he earlier declared “he did watch it” shows either an alarming lack of understanding of how commercial television works or rank hypocrisy.

Anti-Semites just jealous

From: Gerald Hodgson, Spennithorne, Leyburn.

I DO not understand anti-Semitism. I lived in Bradford in the 60s and 70s and gained a number of Jewish friends. Over many years they have proved to be among the best and most loyal of friends.

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Then there is the contribution of Jews to British society. Despite quite small numbers, their contribution to art, sciences, politics and business is simply outstanding. So why anti-Semitism?

I am forced to the conclusion that it is simply based on jealousy – jealousy of the fact that Jews are disproportionally successful in so many spheres of life.

On road to third world

From: Caroline Seymour, Stokesley, North Yorkshire.

I HAVE enjoyed Tom Richmond’s column for years and mostly support his views. His comments on roads (The Yorkshire Post, May 18) resonate. How many much-needed major schemes are announced when an election is in view and cancelled later? However, my concern at the moment is local roads.

I was shocked at the state of a road outside a nearby primary school. Also in another nearby town/village a housing estate has roads with large potholes and residents say the roads have never been refurbished since the estate was built in the 1960/70s. Are we a third world country so poor we cannot afford to invest in our infrastructure? The obsession with cutting public spending is ruining our country.