Hospice invitation

Published 11 Aug 2010 12:30

I AM more than mystified by the statements from C Bettaney (address supplied) and Mr Derek Johnstone (address supplied) that “I did not support my own chairman” nor defend the alleged “silence of my chairman”.

Frankly - given that our chairman never fails, with my full support, to miss any opportunity to alert the public to our ongoing efforts to engage meaningfully and realistically with the health board - if such comments are indicative of the knowledge which informs their concerns, I can only surmise that they are motivated, to some extent at least, by nitpicking.

This is perhaps underlined by Mr Johnstone’s apparent upset that my invitation to him came via “a hospice administrator” rather than from me personally.

I now wonder, should it have been handwritten or typed to achieve a positive response?

At the very least, I trust that your readers will agree that the text of the invitation to Mr Johnstone was both gracious and a serious attempt to engage with him.

It read: ‘As hospice administrator I am inviting you to meet with myself and chief executive at a date and time convenient to yourself in order that we may help to unravel some of the confusion or concern you appear to have. If you wish to meet with us at the hospice I should be grateful if you could telephone Evonne Gourlay on 0141 952 1141.’

Readers may also wish to note that, at his initiative Professor Leo Martin, hospice chairman, met with the chairman of the Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board, Andrew Robertson, at the end of March 2010.

Mr Robertson said there would be a proposal for the hospice if we would meet again on April 19 2010.

No proposal was made at that meeting - but we were told something would be forthcoming if we waited until June. Professor Martin met with Mr Robertson, again at Professor Martin’s request, on June 25 2010. Yet again, there was no proposal given to us to help resolve the current uncertainty.

Professor Martin has expressed his concern, both verbally and in writing, at the health board’s continuing failure to seriously engage with us.

In view of this clearly unsatisfactory state of affairs, perhaps C Bettany and Mr Johnstone might also be sufficiently magnanimous to direct some of the concerns to the health board.

Sister Rita, chief executive, St Margaret of Scotland Hospice

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This letter appeared in Clydebank Post 11 Aug 10

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