Letters to the Editor: Make offenders pay

Make offenders pay for their treatment

The hospital's emergency department is bogged down dealing with drunks, druggies, criminal drivers and their victims, says reader DB Smith.

Re: "Red light driver jailed" (HBT, October 4). Criminal indeed, three unnecessary hospital admissions and another five, maybe 10, deserving people with genuine, non-urgent medical problems who will miss out on medical procedures that would have considerably enhanced their enjoyment of life.

Considering the virtually continuous lack of sufficient health funds to meet the expectations of those who have contributed taxation throughout their working lives, perhaps it's time for the Government, on behalf of their paymaster, the taxpayers of New Zealand, to start recovering the cost of otherwise unnecessary medical treatment to criminals and their victims, and those who deliberately inflict injury requiring hospitalisation on themselves.

Criminal drivers who injure themselves and others, drunk (criminal) drivers who injure themselves and others, drunks and druggies who consume to the point of requiring hospitalisation, gang gunfights and punch-ups, the list is endless.

And no, don't further waste hospital resources and budgets by having them pursue cost recovery.

Have the state refund full costs to the hospitals immediately and then let the Justice Department, with their access to departments such as IRD, welfare and the Passport Office, bleed compensation out of the parasites who are quite happy to unnecessarily bleed away our hard-earned health funds.

D B SMITH, Napier

Thanks to the police

Too often these days we hear and read articles in the news which put our police force in a bad light.

But I was very impressed with the service we received when one of our vehicles was stolen overnight recently.

We reported the theft in the morning and after a return call from them later in the day to confirm some details, they were able to report back to me the same evening to advise that the vehicle had been recovered and a suspect had been apprehended.

Many thanks to all involved for the great communication, and quick and efficient resolution of this crime.

NIC HAAKMAN, Napier