Separate ward essential

I was recently admitted to Ward 12 at North Shore Hospital, a locked psychiatric ward for the over 65s. I was suffering severe depression and my full recovery can only be attributed to a dedicated team of doctors, nurses, psychologists and health care assistants. The ward, with its decaying couches and cheap curtains, is testament to the chronic underfunding of mental health in New Zealand.

Sadly Ward 12 provides a “one size fits all” approach to health care. My fellow mental misfits included the schizophrenic, the demented, those with Parkinson’s disease and an over representation of socially isolated older women struggling to make the transition from family home to retirement village.

It is unnerving to share your bedroom with the psychotic and the demented. What this hospital urgently needs is a separate ward for those with acute circumstantial depression.

Only then will a hospital stay be truly therapeutic for those suffering from depression.

Sarah Beck, retired psychologist, Northcote Point.

Dividing families

With the outcry of children being separated from parents in the USA perhaps it is pertinent to consider the apparent lack of empathy currently emanating from New Zealand's very own department of immigration and a seeming ramping up of deportations by the otherwise “kind” Labour Government. Sending one parent away from a family seems to happen too often and too simply.

Too many cases involve deportation of a parent who has lived here over 10 years, leaving children who are born and bred New Zealanders. The idea that one parent is ample is easily debunked by a quick look at the statistics of those in the criminal justice system where boys without fathers are a particular problem.

It is not only unkind it's also short sighted from a government spending perspective. Keep families together, keep children stable and supported. The positive outcome will be worth it.

John Buchan, Waiake.

Nurses’ pay

When I recently spent time with a sick loved one in Whangarei Hospital I was very humbled and impressed by the care, knowledge and attention to detail of their nursers in our most vulnerable hour. Working around the clock they helped ease the pain, anxiety and fear of both patient and family with empathy, kindness and compassion. I am positive this level of professionalism is not isolated to Te Tai Tokerau and what our nursers are worth is more than we can ever quantify with dollars and cents.

This is no time for arguing, we as a country need to pay all of our health professionals what they are worth, because a world without them is too scary to comprehend.

Richard Higgins, Kawakawa.

Reasonable offer

No one would dispute that nurses do a great public service and have been underpaid for a number of years. So have many others and we should not forget those trying to exist on the minimum wage. The offer on the table is more than reasonable when you compare it to what other groups can expect.

Strike is a clumsy weapon outdated in the 21st century and it is disappointing to see this group resort to such tactics. Despite what they might imagine the pool of money available does not stretch to infinity. They should also realise that sympathy to their cause can quickly evaporate when demands outstrip reality.

Reg Dempster, Albany.

Female professions

National and Labour governments in the past have not valued nurses and teachers because they are female-dominated professions. It is time for the Government to right past injustices now we are well into the 21st century. Taking advantage of caring and nurturing professions is, frankly, a disgrace. Neil Hatfull, Warkworth.

Cycleway survey

Auckland Transport is showing once again its total bias. Auckland is burdened by sparsely used cycleways adding to rather than reducing traffic congestion and destroying hundreds of long standing retail businesses where historic roadside parking serving these are no longer available. All at considerable inconvenience to the general population and enormous cost to ratepayers. There needs to be a concerted urgent public outcry to reverse this unfair and totally unrealistic policy carried out by an uncontrollable entity.

Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.

Right call

Why on earth would World Rugby cancel that French red card? It was definitely the right call from the referee. Do we need a death on the rugby field to warrant a red card? Ian Reisima, Napier.

Orange card

A solution to the red card fiasco in Saturday's test might be an orange card — the offender being sent off for the rest of the match, with a replacement being permitted for his position. Enough to keep a player's intentions pure, while retaining strict safety rules and keeping the playing field level. Tony Molloy, Morrinsville,

Put player on report

The furore over the sending off in last Saturday’s rugby test is somewhat unbalanced. Neither the incident nor the outcome at the time looked good and I do not think one could hold the referee or TMO responsible. From what I saw I couldn’t even see how Lienert-Brown was involved.

All the subsequent dissection of player intent went on ad nauseam until yesterday when World Rugby came out with the inane announcement that the Fall red card would be quashed.

Well here is the solution – apart from a blatant foul, if there is any doubt then the referee should simply award a penalty and if appropriate also yellow card the offender, putting him on report. The match reviewers can then decide at their leisure whether any further judicial action is warranted and if the offender is subsequently found guilty of dangerous or foul play he will receive the usual punishment plus another week and/or game on the sidelines because he was not sent off in the game under review. I bet there would even be angst over that solution too.

Rob Paterson, Mount Maunganui.

Not accidents

Using the words “accident” to describe a road crash and “toll” to describe road deaths, as in Monday’s editorial, is both inaccurate and unhelpful. An accident can be defined as an event that happens by chance or is without apparent or deliberate cause and a toll can be defined as a payment or fee exacted by the state, or others, for some right or privilege. “Accidents” are perceived as unavoidable and the road “toll” could be considered the inevitable price society has to pay for using the roading network.

Using words like accident and toll in the context of road crash fatalities creates an unfortunate perception that these are beyond our control. Sadly this is usually not the case and very often the deaths are a direct or indirect result of unlawful or inappropriate driving behaviour and roading conditions that do not mitigate the outcome. Until we consider road crash deaths as preventable and use English language that supports that position we have little chance of seriously addressing the climbing road fatality rate.

Ian Civil, clinical leader, Major Trauma National Clinical Network.

ACC discriminating

In support of your correspondent John Minchinton on age discrimination by ACC, I’m 76 and gave up work at 73 owing to an accident which ACC will have nothing to with because it’s now classed as age degeneration, even though they were more than happy to take my levies right up to when I was forced to stop work. I’m certain if the Government had allowed me to go with a private insurance company they would have payed out.

G. H. Butler, Mt Roskill.

Canada’s tariffs

In response to Yvonne Sutton's letter on Monday regarding an opening into Canada for New Zealand dairy, the tariff of 270 per cent Canada imposes on US dairy imports is applied to New Zealand imports also. This is a protectionist mechanism by Canada to support their farmers' dairy quota. If Canada were to change this, its current Prime Minister would likely lose important votes in Quebec and Eastern Ontario.

Kay Mackenzie, Whangaparaoa.