Letters: Humanity forgotten in healthcare squeeze; boot camps better than nothing

"People are not a business – they should not be regarded as part of a spreadsheet, but as humans who require humane treatment."

Letters to the Editor

Humanity missing in health squeeze

Once one moves into the octogenarian phase of life, the health system becomes very important. First-hand knowledge of treatment received in hospitals can only be described as first-class, but it’s the getting there that is the worry.

Waiting lists are like a piece of string. For example, a close relative diagnosed by a private specialist was referred to the public health system to have a brain scan. Three weeks ago they received a letter from the hospital acknowledging they had already been waiting 210 days, but they could still not give a date that it would happen.

Elderly patients find waiting in an emergency department for attention can be a nightmare, so they wait until they are really sick and call an ambulance. GPs, whilst doing a great job, when you can see them are not happy with the system.

The attrition rate of nurses is high, but we turn down so many who have worked hard to qualify and then offer those in the job a 1% pay rise. National health systems throughout the world have found that with increasing longevity, extra funding is required, but we look for ways to reduce it.

People are not a business – they should not be regarded as part of a spreadsheet, but as humans who require humane treatment.

Reg Dempster, Albany.

Boot camp criticism

Anyone expecting boot camps to work for 100% of extreme, repeat youth criminals is naive beyond belief. Just like rehabilitation is never going to work for 100% of adult criminals.

Notice that the Greens and Labour have nothing to offer in replacement, just loud criticism. They would leave young criminals to just get on with their increasingly violent ways. That is in effect sentencing us, the law-abiding public. Well, that is what they did whilst in Government.

The “new” boot camp has wraparound services for when participants leave. It is not going to fail for all. We need to give it a go. And as the Greens and Labour have nothing to offer except negativity, perhaps they could silence themselves.

Helen Acraman, Waiuku.

PM’s promise

Let’s not forget that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon promised military-style boot camps during the election campaign last year. He made few policy statements or promises, so this one sticks in mind. He needs to step forward and own it, but he is almost certainly planning his next urgent overseas trip right about now.

Barb Callaghan, Kohimarama.

Game of two halves

Cricket is an uncompromising game. One cannot imagine that the current New Zealand cricket team – the team that crushed India in a three-test series in India last month – is basically the same team that has been totally outplayed in the first two of a three-match test series here in New Zealand. It’s hard to fathom out – could it be the Brendon McCullum factor perhaps?

It remains to be seen what will become of the third and final test; let’s hope we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and play like the champions we can be.

Randal Lockie, Rothesay Bay.

Shadow diplomacy

The fact that a New Zealand Navy vessel was shadowed by the Chinese military this year during a mission targeting ships smuggling oil to North Korea (Herald on Sunday, December 8) should not be cause for concern but for celebration on the diplomatic front.

I am sure the Chinese have heard about the grounding this year of the Interislander ferry Aratere, supposedly caused by a misunderstanding of the ship’s autopilot system. Then there is the HMNZS Manawanui, with initial reports suggesting that the autopilot might have been involved in its grounding in Samoa as well.

With this in mind, maybe the Chinese were just following our boat as a gesture of goodwill with the intention of looking after our vessel just in case the person involved in steering it hadn’t read the manual properly.

Bernard Walker, Mt Maunganui.

Sugar fix

In World War II, sugar in the UK was rationed to 40 grams per day. At the end of the war, sugar rationing was removed and sugar consumption doubled to 80g per day. Type 2 diabetes increased by 35% and high blood pressure increased by 20%.

Today, the average New Zealander consumes an incredible 148g of sugar per day. In Norway, there is a sugar tax of $1.38 per kg, and the average person there consumes only 71g of sugar per day. We should introduce our own $1.38 sugar tax.

John Caldwell, Howick.

Cathedral comparison

Notre Dame in Paris took five years to rebuild after a huge fire. Christchurch Cathedral is still in ruins after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Can someone go to Paris and hire those who rebuilt Notre Dame?

Wendy Galloway, Ōmokoroa.