Accessible & Excellent
A couple of months ago I wrote to the Argyllshire Advertiser to express my gratitude to our local Accident and Emergency service for saving my life. I feel compelled to write again, with reflections on a recent stay in Glenaray ward at the Mid-Argyll hospital.
After a less dramatic, but thorough, assessment in A&E, I spent five days in the ward.
Having worked as a consultant in the NHS for many years, I can say, without hesitation, that the standards of medical and nursing practice, hotel services and hospital amenity, that I experienced, were all absolutely first-rate.
I feel that for these local services, the letters A&E can stand for something else; Accessible & Excellent.
It is sometimes easy to forget just what a gem we have on our doorstep.
Prof. Angus Mackay, Ardrishaig.
Parents need to know that Labour is not going to protect or care about free child care, the Scottish Child payment of £25 per week per child and free college or university tuition fees, because Labour cannot deliver these in England.
Equalising everyone in the Union would mean we in Scotland would lose essential, free services, making our cost of living worse.
Tricia Grey, Lochgilphead.
Roads are used every day by millions of people, whether that’s vehicle owners or pedestrians. When you think about how much traffic these surfaces experience, the importance of road maintenance becomes clear, not only from a safety aspect but resistance too.
Roads must be safe but if they are not maintained properly, potholes, loose debris and weather damage can become serious hazards. However, with the right care, the risk of accidents can be reduced for all road users and minimise the chances of collisions.
Damaged roads can also affect cars and bikes by ruining the tyres and suspension, but well-maintained roads will prevent this from happening.
Maintenance such as road surfacing is a great way of keeping roads level and smooth. Roads must be durable enough to withstand a certain amount of usage without becoming too weak.
Skid-resistant surfacing and similar solutions can also help with this so the roads remain strong.
Repairs that go a long time without attention will only get worse and become more of a hazard. Untidy roads that are full of damage do not look good.
Maintenance is important for keeping our roads looking their best as well as safe. Deterioration of roads can make an area look unkempt and when repairs are left for too long damage will only get worse.
At a local authority level, and when it comes to our trunk road network, much more needs to be done to enact long-term solutions over piecemeal patchwork.
Stopping flooding and timely resurfacing of damaged sections of road should take priority over quick fixes that don’t seem to last.
As your local councillor, I will not stop pressing for long term repairs to our road network.
Councillor Alastair Redman, Kintyre and the Islands ward.
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