YOUR VIEWS: ‘Line in the sand’ has to remain to safeguard society from assisted dying
I am responding to your article online: “Assisted Dying Bill: What is it and how are Highland MPs planning to vote?”
I am a retired neurosurgeon whose approach to this subject was tailored to a formative experience I had as a teenager when a German Franciscan monk came to visit our school.
He had been a member of the Hitler Youth before taking the cloth.
I vividly remember his description of future concentration camp commandants being desensitised to their future role in the Nazi war machine by visiting long stay care facilities run by nuns, caring for children with untreated hydrocephalus – non sentient beings with such huge heads that they couldn’t lift them from the pillow and having the nuns plead with them to end their lives.
That experience informed the whole of my subsequent medical practice.
My role as a physician was made clear to me – to relieve suffering, not end it.
Looking back, I know that there were times when patients of mine died as a result of treatments I administered but always as part of my attempts to relieve their suffering.
I could not have practiced medicine without that clear ‘line in the sand’.
My mother died eight years ago, having lived in a nursing home for 10 years with a non-dominant hemisphere stroke.
Fully sentient, her problems were physical.
There were a number of occasions during this last decade of her life when her mood dropped and she wanted things to end but for the most part she remained remarkably positive, living to see all her grandchildren grow up.
In the end she died peacefully in her sleep.
Her care cost my sister and I £1000 a week. How easy it would have been for us to ‘agree’ to her request in one of her low points and bring her life to an end.
I hear all the arguments in favour of assisted dying and indeed have looked after many patients with untreatable and frightening conditions.
However, human nature being what it is, the effect of making assisted dying legal will allow it to become an alternative to properly funded social care, no matter how many safeguarding amendments are added to the bill.
There is no going back once my ‘line in the sand’ is crossed.
David Sandeman
Attinlea
Nethy Bridge.
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Easy to check on wind energy facts
Charles Wardrop’s latest fact-free letter on wind turbines appeared in last week’s Strathy.
He writes of the ‘vast financial cost and environmental damage’ of onshore and offshore wind. How much cost, how much environmental damage?
Is it damage to water-courses by oil spills, sewage spills, chemicals, nuclear waste?
Is it damage to the atmosphere by carbon emissions or toxic gas release?
If he checked the facts before going into print, he would quickly find out that wind energy is now the cheapest form of electricity-generation on the grid.
Alan Anderson
Grantown.
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Support in supply for coming winter
As we head further into the colder months and are layering up our winter woollies, I would like to share with readers the support that’s available through Royal Voluntary Service.
We’ve found through research that at this time of year, unfortunately, feelings of isolation and loneliness can increase, which can impact our health and wellbeing.
We want to be there for as many people as possible this winter, and so together with our friends at Yakult, we have created the Stay Safe, Warm and Well guide.
The guide is filled with essential information, practical tips, and advice to help people navigate the challenges of winter.
The guide also encourages us all to make sure we are socially connected and have support in place as we face the difficulties the season can bring.
The guide includes details on how readers can sign up for Royal Voluntary Service’s telephone support services, which match volunteers who are available for a friendly chat, with people across the country who are looking to make new connections, share a story or a joke, and ease feelings of loneliness and isolation.
It also shares information on accessing the charity’s Virtual Village Hall online community of events and activities.
The impact of social connection and having someone to turn to for support and conversation cannot be overstated, and we even found that 42 per cent of those who receive telephone support from our volunteers say they visit their GP less.
I’d like to encourage readers to download the Stay Safe, Warm and Well guide and find out more, at www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/safe-warm-well. Physical copies of the guide can also be requested by calling 0800 731 9197, a small P&P charge will apply.
Sam Ward
Deputy Chief Executive of Royal Voluntary Service
Stoke.
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Nuclear power vital for securing energy needs
Charles Wardrop is quick to criticise the Chineses Government for building more coal powered power stations whilst failing to recognise the massive growth in nuclear power generation.
China now has in excess of 55 nuclear reactors with a further 23 under construction. It was the first country to switch on two small modular reactors, one of which is based on ground-breaking technology.
The difference between the UK and the Chinese is simple: we have been talking about SMRs for over seven years and the Westminster blob has yet to place an order: China’s policy is one of energy security first with green as soon as possible, whereas the UK’s policy is to hope we don’t run out of power when there is no wind and sun.
I know which I prefer.
Geoff France
Holmfirth.
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A big and costly Brexit change is nearly here
Unbeknownst to many, the latest chapter in the economic disaster that is Brexit opens later this month.
As of 13th December, some businesses in Great Britain will be forced to stop selling to customers in Northern Ireland and the EU, because of new EU product safety rules.
The EU’s new General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) will apply in Northern Ireland, as well as the EU, due to the fact that Northern Ireland effectively remained in the EU’s single market for goods after Brexit. These regulations update existing rules and aim to give better protection for consumers when shopping online and improving product recalls.
This includes creating new requirements for businesses in Great Britain selling to Northern Ireland or the EU, including the need for a ‘responsible person’, which is effectively a compliance agent.
This individual is required for goods which are manufactured outside the EU or Northern Ireland and must be based in the EU or Northern Ireland.
They are effectively an official point of contact for product compliance and safety issues.
Some service providers are starting to provide responsible person apps, but these come at a cost, with different fees and categories for each product, alongside the added bureaucracy of new labelling requirements.
Such increased burdens are by their nature putting off many businesses from exporting, and as we approach the festive season, Brexit really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Alex Orr
Edinburgh.
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Pale imitation of party
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has warned that the rise of Reform will only help the SNP by splitting the vote.
Is that the best he can do? Really?
It recycles the entitlement and fear-mongering which Tories have used for over a decade.
It served them well when Indyref2 was on the horizon but its power was severely depleted in the last general election when Reform won 7% of the vote, pushing the Tories into third place in a number of constituencies.
Mr Findlay assures voters he is listening and understands why they are seeking an alternative to the main parties. Again, really?
If he did, he would offer more than a promise of ‘common sense’, a pale rhetorical imitation of what Reform in their policy pronouncements actually exemplify.
Many people have been disappointed for years at how feeble an opposition the Scottish Conservatives have been, and there is no sign of this improving significantly under Mr Findlay's leadership.
Reform is the fastest growing political party in history in the UK and in Scotland, and the day is not far off when its Scottish membership will exceed that of the Scottish Tories.
Come the Holyrood election in 17 months' time, the tables will be turned, and a vote for the Tories instead of Reform will be most likely to split the vote in favour of the SNP.
Linda Holt
Pittenweem
Anstruther.
