Pay for nurse education not compensation

I READ with both interest and dismay the article about compensation payouts for botched operations by a Yorkshire surgeon, Mr Bhamra (Yorkshire Post, February 28).

I am the chief executive of The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP), formerly known as the National Association for Theatre Nurses (NATN). We are a not-for-profit organisation that supports theatre personnel within the acute setting. We are renowned for setting standards within this clinical area.

At AfPP, we believe that teams who work together should train together to build an environment of support and trust, one that supports the common guidelines of a team to ensure there is a robust safety culture that is embedded into their practices.

With the changes the NHS is currently experiencing due to a savings target of £20bn by 2014, training can often be forgotten or ignored to save money. However, the NHS constitution states: “The NHS commits to provide all staff with personal development, access to appropriate training and line management support for them to succeed.”

The cost of investigating incidents of poor practice is extremely high for any Trust and the ongoing resource required to support the outcomes can be overwhelming.

Your article only quotes the £2m paid in compensation but I am sure this will not have been the total cost involved.

The cost involved in a dedicated programme of education compared with the costs of investigating and paying compensation is very favourable and will in turn change the conditions within which professionals work to make the incidents of poor practice less likely.

Minster is fit for a King

From: Tammi Tolhurst, Town Mayor, Chairman, Middleham Town Council, Middleham, North Yorkshire.

THE discovery and confirmation of the remains of King Richard III have as I am sure you are aware, caused a great deal of interest, particularly here in Middleham, his childhood home.

Many locals were of the opinion that he should be repatriated to Middleham but that I am sure was more wishful thinking than a serious suggestion.

We at Middleham Town Council debated the issue at our last meeting when it was unanimously agreed to lend our voice to the suggested re-interment at York Minster as being the most appropriate final resting place. It would seem that as the last Plantagenet and Northern King and the last English King to fall in battle that his expressed wish to be buried at York should be honoured.

To this end it was resolved to write to the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, raising what we see as the issues and with the suggestion that a public consultation would be the most appropriate way to move things forward.

Laughing matters?

From: David F Chambers, Sladeburn Drive, Northallerton.

PERHAPS John Noton (Yorkshire Post, March 4) should realise that when expressing a view his argument is not strengthened by referring to his opponent as “your comedy columnist”. Bill Carmichael’s writing style may be lighter than some, but his articles shrewdly identify our current foolishness and his views are always rooted in common sense.

Climate change may be upon us – it always has been, and results from varying effects on our planet caused by cosmic and solar radiation. Perhaps Mr Noton could suggest how these forces are to be modified to suit us human beings? The idea that global warming (sorry, climate change) is down to human activity is presumptuous. It is possible our descendants will have to spend billions on nuclear waste disposal, but the progress of science makes many things possible, when data is intelligently interpreted. And they can’t deny that we for our part are spending billions on solving this problem as best we can. They probably won’t forgive us for the windmills however.

Bill Carmichael’s article a joke? No, Mr Noton it was not, just a relief from the dodgy claims and hysterical, naive responses that have cost us dearly.

Sporting spirits

From: Keith Nunn, Burton Street, Farsley, Leeds.

NICK Ahad’s honest, personal description of sport’s unending ability to move us to tears of joy, exemplified in an American High School basketball game, underlined how sportsmanship and fair play will always appeal to our deepest emotional response (Yorkshire Post, March 11).

It is good to walk when you have snicked the ball to the wicketkeeper; best to shake hands after fouling a fellow footballer; easy to tell the referee after brushing the snooker ball with your sleeve.

Heroic sporting victories are often accompanied by crescendoes of noise and the enthusiastic commentator’s voice, adding to the dramatic moment, making us all feel part of the action, giving us goose bumps. But occasionally our spirit is rejuvenated when ordinary mortals with special needs are celebrated in the spotlight, uplifted into stardom, made to feel the special people that they are.

Sport and life aren’t always about rewarding the most naturally talented. Sometimes the previously unsung basketball lad is cheered and mobbed, or the boy with little ability but much enthusiasm is chosen first by the schoolboy captains at break-time in the playground. By making their day, we make our own that much brighter and better, and sport reinforces the goodness and kindness of common humanity. It is why sport can sometimes lovingly be known as the crying games.