YOUR VIEWS: Highland Council bouncy castle row and praise for Raigmore Hospital in Inverness
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Readers share their views on a range of subjects affecting Inverness and the Highlands.
Council U-turn on bouncy castle ban measures
On Wednesday of this week Highland Council announced it was reversing a decision to ban bouncy castles from all its premises, on health and safety grounds. The apparently impromptu ruling, seemingly made without councillor involvement, revealed earlier in the week had left one Croy firm with no history of safety issues fearing that it faced ruin.
“Well done Inverness Courier for the outstanding job that your reporters did in highlighting this issue and bringing it to the attention of the public and the councillors representing them. Without your help nothing would have changed.” – Gerry Reynolds MSc
“About time, these days kids aren’t allowed to have any fun if there’s any such risk involved, people don’t learn in life without taking any kind of risks while growing up.” – Alan Gillespie
Praise for care at Raigmore Hospital
NHS Highland has had its critics over the last while.
Following my own recent experience at Raigmore Hospital, however, having had major and complex bowel cancer surgery under Mr Ramalingam and his team, I can’t praise the care I received highly enough.
From the pre-operative procedures, briefings and preparatory advice, through the surgical procedure itself to the post-operative care, the level of attention to my needs was not only most professional, but was completely patient-orientated and given in an attentive, kindly and good humoured manner, notwithstanding the undoubted pressures under which hospital personnel operate.
I have no idea what the whole package cost – perhaps £15,000, maybe more, and all funded by the taxpayer. I contributed not a penny other than through taxes.
How sustainable this is, I do not know, but all I can say is well done Raigmore. I will be forever grateful.
Roy Pedersen
Drummond Road
Inverness
Little sense in decisions over sculptures
Courier columnist Colin Campbell’s recent attack on public sculpture efforts across the city centre continued to draw comment.
“Highland Council modus operandi: 1) Apply for any free funding/grants that are going from whatever public body, with no clear idea of what to do with it, if successful. 2) If awarded, tell everyone some nonsense that it has to be spent otherwise they will never get any more funding ever again, and the council will suffer “reputational damage”. 3) Spend it on something that nobody asked for and nobody wants, because it has to be spent. Does anyone think for one moment that if it was done sensibly ie decide what Inverness wants, and then go ahead with applying for funding, we would have ended up with a pile of slabs trip hazard in Church Street, or an industrial, wartime-relic looking pier defacing what was once a green, bucolic view upstream from Infirmary Bridge? They seem to be using the same system for the Academy Street plans.” – Richard Newmark, Inverness
No backing for health hopes
First Minister Humza Yousaf said he had no plans to replace Raigmore Hospital after Highland MSP Edward Mountain launched a petition for a brand new teaching hospital for the region.
“Our incapable first minister has been unable to make any of his previous positions work . He now does not know how to fund a new hospital, which is needed in Inverness. The area does not interest this government, if it does not affect the central belt, it does not matter!” – Bruce Mackay, Inverness
Step out to help meals charity
This May, Highlands and Islands residents are being encouraged to “step up” and help Mary’s Meals feed more hungry children around the world.
During National Walking Month, the school feeding charity is calling on people to take part in its Move For Meals challenge, which encourages participants to raise sponsorship whilst keeping active.
Mary’s Meals serves a daily school meal to children living in some of the world’s poorest countries.
The promise of a nutritious meal encourages children into the classroom, giving them energy to learn and hope for a brighter future.
The charity reaches 2,429,182 children every school day in 18 countries, including South Sudan, Syria and Ethiopia.
With the weather getting warmer and the days growing longer, everyone is keen to get outdoors and get some exercise!
This National Walking Month, you can help to transform the lives of some of the world’s poorest children by simply getting active, making the most of the sunshine and signing up to Move for Meals.
Throughout May, Mary’s Meals is asking people to walk 10,000 steps a day as part of the Move for Meals challenge.
It costs just 10p to feed a child with Mary’s Meals. So even raising as little as £1 for every 10,000 steps you complete will provide 10 children with a nutritious meal and an education that can be their ladder out of poverty.
Walking 10,000 steps a day is just a small change you can make that can have a big impact on a child’s life.
I hope that as many people as possible in the Highlands and Islands will pull on their walking shoes and step up to the challenge this May to help us keep our promise to the 2.4 million children we feed every day with Mary’s Meals.
It costs just £19.15 to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for an entire school year.
Signing up for Move For Meals couldn’t be easier.
Find out more and get your free Mary’s Meals T-shirt at: marysmeals.org.uk/move-for-meals
Morven Macgillivray
Supporter engagement
Mary’s Meals
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