Doctor appointments

James Knox Whittet, Norfolk.

I was interested to read GG MacDonald’s letter in The Oban Times of April 21. I absolutely share their view of how hard it is to see a GP these days and I especially dislike the lack of privacy that exists when the person answering your telephone call immediately says: ‘What’s it about?’ and you are forced to divulge your personal medical problems to a complete stranger.

As I understand it, receptionists are not required to take the Hippocratic Oath. This is not the way a health service should be organised and it is not what people need or want.

I know Covid has a lot to answer for but we have more freedom from it now and surely plastic screens could be erected in surgeries, as in other places, to enable face-to-face visits. Masks and all the usual precautions can easily be taken.

Dentists are open again and they are necessarily in much closer contact with their patients so surely it is time that doctors gave their patients more of the service they want, need and pay for.

Any councillor who can help to bring this service back to something resembling what it used to be, will be very popular. It is a very important subject that should be high on all of their agendas. its attitude demonstrates, seem totally unable to deal with this. So, too, with Transport Scotland, which recently disbanded its Ferry Advisory Group, apparently for the impertinence of actually providing independent advice.

CMAL claims Islay has endorsed its two new ships for that route. Of course they did. It was made sure that nothing else was on offer.

These vessels do seem to be a step forward compared with previous ones, but that’s not really the comparison which should be used. Catamarans have their pros and cons, rather more pros than CMAL is willing to admit, but to claim that such were ever seriously considered is nonsense.

Joe Reade’s contention that this is essentially