Letters to the editor: Tauranga Hospital gratitude and harder penalties for family violence ‘scum’

Tauranga Hospital. Photo / George Novak

Not out of woods, but thankful to be saved

Bay of Plenty people are fortunate to have Tauranga Hospital’s exceptional staff.

The skill of the staff and the excellent co-ordination between departments undoubtedly saved my life.

I am immensely grateful for the care I received. Ongoing treatment was always explained and discussed with me and my family.

My continuing issues were monitored and appropriate help was given after I was discharged.

In particular, the following departments were involved: Emergency Department, Hato Hone St John and its shuttle service, orthopaedics, infectious diseases, assessment and planning, cardiology, support services, physiotherapy and district health nurses

What a team. Thank you all for your skill, caring, commitment and compassion.

It’s been a long road and I’m not out of the woods yet, but it’s wonderful to be home again and getting on with life.

Bill Lomas

Pāpāmoa

Time to take family violence more seriously

Regarding family violence: I have lived in several different countries, and all suffer the same to different degrees but here in New Zealand, I feel we should know better.

We pride ourselves on many claims - we claim to be nuclear-free, we claim to be a clean environmentally concerned nation; we also claim to be concerned about the land, sea, flora and fauna that is New Zealand. We offer help to other nations suffering hardship; we show deep concern over the hunger and problems facing some of our children.

Why then, are we not more concerned about the violence to our women?

Any man who raises his hand to a woman, or subjects her to any form of terror or fear, loses the right to call himself a man. Instead, he is scum.

Our very existence depends on women - our mothers, grandmothers, daughters and sisters are women, and we owe them right from the first breath we breathe.

To even think of anyone raising a hand to them nauseates me.

Yes, it should be a police matter, and the full weight of the law should descend on the heads of the individuals who believe it is okay to hit a woman.

There is no punishment too strong for these people. We must take it more seriously than we do.

Jim Adams

Rotorua

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